Conference of the Birds by Attar

THE CONFERENCE OF
THE BIRDS

RENDERED INTO ENGLISH FROM
THE LITERAL AND COMPLETE FRENCH TRANSLATION
OF GARCIN DE TASSY BY

C S. NOTT

Copyright © 1954 by C. S. Nott
First published by The Janus Press, 1954
First Shambala edition, July 1971

This book is published in the Clear Light Series
dedicated to W.Y. Evans-Wentz. The series is under the
joint editorship of Samuel Bercholz and Michael Fagan.

Cover design by Arthur Okamura
Brush drawings by Kate Adamson
Covers printed at Cranium Press, San Francisco.
Text printed and bound by IPCO, Ashland, Oregon.

ISBN 0-87773-031-8
SHAMBALA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
1409 Fifth Street, Berkeley, California, 94710

CONTENTS

Foreword page vii

I. Invocation i

II. The Birds Assemble 8

III. The Conference of the Birds ii

Epilogue 1 3 5

Attar 137

A note on the Sufis 139

Glossary 141

1

t

FOREl^ORD

Attar s great philosophical religious poem, Mantiq Uttair, ipas
composed probably in the second half of the twelfth century A,D.
Since then, a new edition has appeared every few years in one or
another of the countries of the Near East,

The present rendering was undertaken in the first instance for the
benefit of myself and some friends; but it is the fullest version that
has yet appeared in English and, as such, may interest a wider public.
For the most part I have used Garcin de Tassy's translation into
French prose from the Persian, which was collated with Arabic^
Hindu, and Turkish texts (Paris, 1863). / have also consulted a
Persian text through a Sufi friend, together with extant English
translations. Of these latter there are three, all very much abridged.
The first is by Edward Fitzgerald, in rhyme, and rather senti-
mental; the second is a very literal translation of i , 1 70 couplets of
the original 4,674 Mathnawi, by Ghulam Muhammad Abid Shaikh,
India, 1911; the third (and the best of the three') is MasanPs, in
prose, though only about half of the original was translated; this was
printed and published in Mangalore, India, 1924, and sheets were
imported and published by the Oxford University Press, All three
have long been out of print. Garcin de TassyT translation is com-
plete, and, as he says, ^is as literal as I have been able to ?}2ake it
intelligible'. He has also retained the favour, the spirit, and the
teaching of Attar's poem.

I have omitted the second half of the Invocation — which is missing
fro??i the Hindu text and is abridged in the Turkish. The Epilogue
is omitted entirely from the Hindu and the Turkish texts, and varies
in other ?nanuscripts; of this I have included only the first part, since
the rest, consisting as it does of anecdotes, comes as an anticlimax.
Also omitted or condensed are a few anecdotes in the story, either
because they seem repetitive, or because the meaning is obscure. But

(viii)

all that relates to the ' ConferetJce\ ^Speech\ ^l^anguage\ "Dis-
course' or "Parllamut' (as It Is variously called) of the Birds as
told in the original manuscript ^ is here.

All notes on the text are included in the Glossary so that the
reading shall not be interrupted; these include some of Tassy's. In
compiling this^ and in writing the notes on Attar and on the SufiSy
I have consulted^ among other sources. The Dictionary of Islam
and the Encyclopaedia of Islam. In numbering the sections I have
followed T assy's translation of the original manuscripts. If the reader
will run through the Glossary before reading the book many allusions
will be made clearer; though, as Tassy himself remarks, the meaning
is sometimes obscure.

Miss Adamson's brush drawings are based on those in an old
Persian manuscript of Mantiq Uttair.

c. S. NOTT

I. INVOCATION

RAISE to the Holy Creator, who has placed his throne

upon the waters, and who has made all terrestrial

JL creatures. To the Heavens he has given dominion and
to the Earth dependence; to the Heavens he has given
movement, and to the Earth uniform repose.

He raised the firmament above the earth as a tent, with-
out pillars to uphold it. In six days he created the seven
planets and with two letters he created the nine cupolas of
the Heavens.

In the beginning he gilded the stars, so that at night the
heavens might play tric-trac.

With diverse properties he endowed the net of the body,
and he has put dust on the tail of the bird of the soul.

He made the Ocean liquid as a sign of bondage, and the
mountain tops are capped with ice for fear of him.

He dried up the bed of the sea and from its stones brought
forth rubies, and from its blood, musk.

To the mountains he has given peaks for a dagger, and
valleys for a belt; so that they lift up their heads in pride.

Sometimes he makes clusters of roses spring from the face
of the fire;

Sometimes he throws bridges across the face of the waters.

He caused a mosquito to sting Nimrod his enemy who
thereby suffered for four hundred years.

In his wisdom he caused the spider to spin his web to
protect the highest of men.

He squeezed the waist of the ant so that it resembled a
hair, and he made it a companion of Solomon;

He gave it the black robes of the Abbasides and a garment
of unwoven brocade worthy of the peacock.

(2)

When he saw that the carpet of nature was defective he
pieced it together fittingly.

He stained the sword with the colour of the tulip; and
from vapour made a bed of water-lilies.

He drenched clods of earth with blood so that he might
take from them cornelians and rubies.

Sun and Moon — one* the day, the other the night, bow to
the dust in adoration; and from their worship comes their
movement. It is God who has spread out the day in white-
ness, it is he who has folded up the night and blackened it.

To the parrot he gave a collar of gold; and the hoopoe
he made a messenger of the W'ay.

The firmament is like a bird beating its wings along the
way God has marked out for him, striking the Door with
his head as with a hammer.

God has made the firmament to revolve — night follows
day and day the night.

\XTen he breathes on clay man is created; and from a
little vapour he forms the world.

Sometimes he causes the dog to go before the traveller;
sometimes he uses the cat to show the \X av.

Sometimes he gives the power of Solomon to a staff;
sometimes he accords eloquence to the ant.

From a staff he produces a serpent; and by means of a
staff he sends forth a torrent of water.

He has placed in the firmament the orb of the proud, and
binds it with iron when glowing red it wanes.

He brought forth a camel from a rock, and made the
golden calf to bellow.

In winter he scatters the silver snow; in autumn, the gold
of yellow leaves.

He lays a cover on the thorn and tinges it with the colour
of blood.

To the jasmine he gives four petals and on the head of
the tulip he puts a red bonnet.

(5)

He places a golden crown on the brow of the narcissus;
and drops pearls of dew into her shrine.

At the idea of God the mind is baffled, reason fails;
because of God the heavens turn, the earth reels.

From the back of the fish to the moon every atom is a
witness to his Being.

The depths of earth and the heights of heaven render him
each their particular homage.

God produced the wind, the earth, the fire, and blood,
and by these he announces his secret.

He took clay and kneaded it with water, and after forty
mornings placed therein the spirit which vivified the body.

God gave it intelligence so that it might have discernment
of things.

When he saw that intelligence had discernment, he gave
it knowledge, so that it might weigh and ponder.

But when man came in possession of his faculties he con-
fessed his impotence, and was overcome with amazement,
while his body gave itself up to exterior acts.

Friends or enemies, all bow the head under the yoke which
God, in his wisdom, imposes; and, a thing astonishing, he
watches over us all.

At the beginning of the centuries God used the mountains
as nails to fix the Earth ; and washed Earth’s face with the
water of Ocean. Then he placed Earth on the back of a bull,
the bull on a fish, and the fish on the air. But on what rested
the air? On nothing. But nothing is nothing — and all that
is nothing. Admire then, the works of the Lord, though he
himself considers them as nothing. And seeing that His
Essence alone exists it is certain there is nothing but Him.
His throne is on the waters and the world is in the air. But
leave the waters and the air, for all is God: the throne and
the world are only a talisman. God is all, and things have
only a nominal value; the world visible and the world
invisible are only Himself.

(4)

There is none but Him. But, alas, no one can see Him.
The eyes are blind, even though the world be lighted by a
brilliant sun. Should you catch even a glimpse of Him you
would lose your wits, and if you should see Him completely
you would lose your self.

All men who are aware of their ignorance tuck up the
flap of their garment and say earnestly: ‘O thou who art not
seen although thou makest us to know thee, everyone is
thou and no other than thou is manifested. The soul is
hidden in the body, and thou art hidden in the soul. O thou
who art hidden in that which is hidden, thou art more than
all. All see themselves in thee and they see thee in every-
thing. Since thy dwelling is surrounded by guards and
sentinels how can we come near to thy presence? Neither
mind nor reason can have access to thy essence, and no one
knows thy attributes. Because thou art eternal and perfect
thou art always confounding the wise. What can we say
more, since thou art not to be described!’

O my heart, if you wish to arrive at the beginning of
understanding, walk carefully. To each atom there is a dif-
ferent door, and for each atom there is a different way which
leads to the mysterious Being of whom I speak. To know
oneself one must live a hundred lives. But you must know
God by Himself and not by you; it is He who opens the way
that leads to Him, not human wisdom. The knowledge of
Him is not at the door of rhetoricians. Knowledge and
ignorance are here the same, for they cannot explain nor can
they describe. The opinions of men on this arise only in their
imagination; and it is absurd to try to deduce anything from
what they say: whether ill or well, they have said it from
themselves. God is above knowledge and beyond evidence,
and nothing can give an idea of his Holy Majesty.

O you who value the truth, do not look for an analogy;
the existence of this Being without equal does not admit of
one. Since neither the prophets nor the heavenly messengers

( 5 )

have understood the least particle, they have bowed their
foreheads on the dust, saying: ‘We have not known thee as
thou must truly be.’

What am I then, to flatter myself that I know Him?

O ignorant son of the first man, the Khalif of God on
earth, strive to participate in the spiritual knowledge of your
father. All creatures that God draws out from nothingness
for their existence prostrate themselves before him. When
he wished to create Adam, he made him go out from behind
a hundred veils, and he said to him, ‘O Adam, all creatures
adore me; be adored in your turn.’ The only one who
turned from this adoration was transformed from an angel
into a demon. He was cursed and had no knowledge of the
secret. His face became black and he said to God: ‘O thou
who art in possession of absolute independence, do not
abandon me.’

The Most High replied: ‘You who are cursed, know that
Adam is both my steward and the king of nature. Today
go before him, and tomorrow burn for him the ispand.’

When the soul was joined to the body it was part of the
all: never has there been so marvellous a talisman. The soul
had a share of that which is high, and the body a share of
that which is low; it was formed of a mixture of heavy clay
and pure spirit. By this mixing, man became the most
astonishing of mysteries. We do not know nor do we
understand so much as a little of our spirit. If you wish to
say something about this, it would be better to keep silent.
Many know the surface of this ocean, but they understand
nothing of the depths; and the visible world is the talisman
which protects it. But this talisman of bodily obstacles will
be broken at last. You will find the treasure when the talis-
man disappears; the soul will manifest itself when the body
is laid aside. But your soul is another talisman; it is, for this
mystery, another substance. Walk then in the way I shall
indicate, but do not ask for an explanation.

(6)

In this vast ocean the world is an atom and the atom a
world. Who knows which is of more value here, the corne-
lian or the pebble?

We have staked our life, our reason, our spirit, our reli-
gion, in order to understand the perfection of an atom. Sew
up your lips and ask nothing of the empyrean or the throne
of God. No one really knows the essence of the atom — ask
whom you will. The Heavens are like a cupola upside down,
without stability, at once moving and unmoving. One is lost
in contemplation of such a mystery — it is veil upon veil;
one is like a figure painted on a wall, and one can only bite
the back of one’s hand.

Consider those who have entered in the way of the Spirit.
Look what has happened to Adam; see how many years he
spent in mourning. Contemplate the deluge of Noah and all
that patriarch suffered at the hands of the wicked. Consider
Abraham, who was full of love for God : he suffered tortures
and was thrown into the fire. See the unfortunate Ishmael
offered up in the way of divine love. Turn towards Jacob
who became blind from weeping for his son. Look at
Joseph, admirable in his power as in his slavery, in the pit
and in prison. Remember the unhappy Job stretched on the
earth a prey to worms and wolves. Think of Jonah who,
having strayed from the Way, went from the moon to the
belly of the fish. Follow Moses from his birth: a box served
him for a cradle, and Pharaoh exalted him. Think of David,
who made himself a breast-plate and whose sighs melted the
iron like wax. Look at Solomon whose empire was mastered
by the Jinn. Remember Zacharias, so ardent with the love
of God that he kept silent when they killed him; and John
the Baptist, despised before the people, whose head was put
on a platter. Stand in wonder at Christ at the foot of the
cross, v/hen he saved himself from the hands of the Jews.
And finally, ponder over all that the Chief of the Prophets
suffered from the insults and injuries of the wicked.

(7)

After this, do you think it will be easy to arrive at a
knowledge of spiritual things? It means no less than to die
to everything. What shall I say further, since there is nothing
more to say, and there remains not a rose on the bush ! O
Wisdom! You are no more than a suckling child; and the
reason of the old and experienced strays in this quest. How
shall I, a fool, be able to arrive at this Essence; and if I
should arrive, how shall I be able to enter in by the door?
O Holy Creator! Vivify my spirit! Believers and unbelievers
are equally plunged in blood, and my head turns as the
heavens, I am not without hope but I am impatient.

My friends! We are neighbours of one another: I wish
to repeat my discourse to you day and night, so that you
should not cease for a moment to long to set out in quest
of Truth.

II. THE BIRDS ASSEMBLE

WELCOME, O Hoopoe! You who were a guide to King
Solomon and the true -messenger of the valley, who had the
good fortune to go to the borders of the Kingdom of Sheba.
Your warbling speech with Solomon was delightful; being
his companion you obtained a crown of glory. You must
put in fetters the demon, the tempter, and having done this
will enter the palace of Solomon.

O Wagtail, you who resemble Moses I Lift up your head
and make your shawm resound to celebrate the true know-
ledge of God. Like Moses you have seen the fire from afar;
you are really a little Moses on Mount Sinai. My discourse
is sans words, sans tongue, sans sound; understand it then,
sans mind, sans ear.

Welcome, O Parrot! In your beautiful robe and collar of
fire, this collar is fitting for a dweller in the underworld but
your robe is worthy of Heaven. Can Abraham save himself
from the fire of Nimrod? Break the head of Nimrod and
become the friend of Abraham, who was the friend of God.
When you have been delivered from the hands of Nimrod
put on your robe of glory and fear not the collar of fire.

Welcome, O Partridge! You who walk so graciously, and
are content when you fly over the mountains of divine
knowledge. Lift yourself up in joy and consider the benefits
of the Way. Knock with the hammer on the door of the
house of God; and humbly melt down the mountains of
your per\^erse desires so that the camel can come out.

Salutations, O Falcon Royal! You of piercing sight, how
long will you remain so violent and passionate? Fasten your
talons to the letter of eternal love but do not break the seal
until eternity. Mix your spirit with reason and see the
eternity of before and after as one. Break your vile carcase

(9)

and establish yourself in the cavern of unity, and Muhammad
will come to you.

Salutations, O Quail! When you hear in your spirit the
alast of love, your body of desire replies, bale, with dis-
pleasure. Consume your body of desire as the ass of Christ,
then, as the Messiah, enflame yourself with the love of the
Creator. Burn this ass and take the bird of love, so that the
Spirit of God may happily come to you.

Salutations, O Nightingale of the Garden of Love! Utter
your plaintive notes caused by the wounds and pains of
love. Lament sweetly from the heart, like David. Open
your melodious throat and sing of spiritual things. By your
songs show men the true Way. Make the iron of your heart
as soft as wax, and you will be like David, ferv^ent in the love
of God.

Salutations, O Peacock of the Garden of the Eight Doors !
You have been afflicted because of the seven-headed serpent,
through whom you were expelled from Eden. If you deliver
yourself from this detestable serpent Adam will take you
with him into Paradise.

Salutations, O Excellent Pheasant! You see that which
is far off, and you perceive the heart’s source immersed in
the ocean of ligh^- while you remain in the pit of darkness
and the prison of uncertainty. Lift yourself from the pit and
raise your head to the divine throne.

Salutations, O gently moaning Turtle-dove! You went
out contented and returned with a sad heart to a prison as
narrow as Jonah’s. O you who wander here and there like
a fish, can you languish in ill-will? Cut off the head of this fish
so that you may preen yourself on the summit of the moon.

Salutations, O Pigeon! Intone your notes so that I may
scatter round you seven plates of pearls. Since the collar of
faith encircles your neck it would not become you to be
unfaithful. When you enter into the way of understanding,
Khizr will bring you the water of life.

B

(lo)

Welcome, O Hawk! You who have taken wing, and after
rebelling against your master have bowed your head! Bear
yourself becomingly. You are fastened to the body of this
world, and so are far from the other. When you are free of
the worlds, present and future, you will rest on the hand of
Alexander.

Welcome, O Goldfinch! Come joyously. Be eager to act,
and come as the fire. When you have burnt up your attach-
ments the light of God will manifest itself more and more.
Since your heart knows the secrets of God, remain faithful.
When you have perfected yourself you will no longer exist.
But God will remain.

III. THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS

I

THE CONFERENCE OPENS

ALL THE BIRDS of the world, known and unknown, were
assembled together. They said: ^No country in the world
is without a king. How comes it, then, that the kingdom of
the birds is without a ruler! This state of things cannot last.
We must make effort together and search for one; for no
country can have a good administration and a good organiza-
tion without a king.’

So they began to consider how to set out on their quest.
The Hoopoe, excited and full of hope, came forward and
placed herself in the middle of the assembled birds. On her
breast was the ornament which symbolized that she had
entered the way of spiritual knowledge; the crest on her
head was as the crown of truth, and she had knowledge of
both good and evil.

‘Dear Birds,’ she began, ‘I am one who is engaged in
divine warfare, and I am a messenger of the world invisible.
I have knowledge of God and of the secrets of creation.
When one carries on his beak, as I do, the name of God,
Bismillah, it follows that one must have knowledge of many
hidden tilings. Yet my days pass restlessly and I am concerned
with no person for I am wholly occupied by love for the
King. I can find water by instinct, and I know many other
secrets. I talk with Solomon and am the foremost of his

(lO

followers. It is astonishing that he neither asked nor sought
for those who were absent from his kingdom, yet when I
was away from him for a day he sent his messengers every-
where, and, since he could not be without me for a moment,
my worth is established for ever. I carried his letters, and I
was his confidential companion. The bird who is sought
after by the prophet Solomon, merits a crown for his head.
The bird who is well spoken of by God, how can he trail his
feathers in the dust? For years I have travelled by sea and
land, over mountains and valleys. I covered an immense
space in the time of the deluge; I accompanied Solomon on
his journeys, and I have measured the bounds of the world.

‘I know well my King, but alone I cannot set out to find
him. Abandon your timidity, your self-conceit and your
unbelief, for he who makes light of his own life is delivered
from himself; he is delivered from good and evil in the way
of his beloved. Be generous with your life. Set your feet
upon the earth and step out joyfully for the court of the
king. We have a true king, he lives behind the mountains
called Kaf. His name is Simurgh and he is the king of birds.
He is close to us, but we are far from him. The place where
he dwells is inaccessible, and no tongue is able to utter his
name. Before him hang a hundred thousand veils of light
and darkness, and in the two worlds no one has power to
dispute his kingdom. He is the sovran lord and is bathed in
the perfection of his majesty. He does not manifest himself
completely even in the place of his dwelling, and to this no
knowledge or intelligence can attain. The way is unknown,
and no one has the steadfastness to seek it, though thousands
of creatures spend their lives in longing. Even the purest
soul cannot describe him, neither can the reason compre-
hend: these two eyes are blind. The wise cannot discover
his perfection nor can the man of understanding perceive
his beauty. All creatures have wished to attain to this perfec-
tion and beauty by imagination. But how can you tread that

(13)

path with thought? How measure the moon from the fish?
So, thousands of heads go here and there, like the ball in
polo, and only lamentations and sighs of longing are heard.
Many lands and seas are on the way. Do not imagine that
the journey is short; and one must have the heart of a lion
to follow this unusual road, for it is very long and the sea
is deep. One plods along in a state of amazement, sometimes
smiling sometimes weeping. As for me, I shall be happy to
discover even a trace of him. That would indeed be some-
thing, but to live without him would be a reproach. A man
must not keep his soul from the beloved but must be in a
fitting state to lead his soul to the court of the King. Wash
your hands of this life if you would be called a man of action.
For your beloved, renounce this dear life of yours, as worthy
men. If you submit with grace, the beloved will give his life
for you.’

FIRST MANIFESTATION OF THE SIMURGH

‘An astonishing thing! The first manifestation of the
Simurgh took place in China in the middle of the night.
One of his feathers fell on China and his reputation filled
the w'orld. Ever^^one made a picture of this feather, and
from it formed his own system of ideas, and so fell into a
turmoil. This feather is still in the picture-gallery of that
country; hence the saying, “ Seek knowledge, even in China 1 ”

‘But for his manifestation there would not have been so
much noise in the world concerning this mysterious Being.
This sign of his existence is a token of his glory. All souls
carry an impression of the image of his feather. Since the
description of it has neither head nor tail, beginning nor
end, it is not necessary to say more about it. Now, any of
you who are for this road, prepare yourselves, and put your
feet on the Way.’

When the Hoopoe had finished the birds began excitedly
to discuss the glory of this king, and seized with longing to

( 14)

have him for their own sovereign they were all impatient to
be off. They resolved to go together; each became a friend
to the other and an enemy to himself. But when they began
to realize how long and painful their journey was to be, they
hesitated, and in spite of their apparent good-will began to
excuse themselves, each according to his type.

THE NIGHTINGALE

The amorous Nightingale first came forward almost beside
himself with passion. He poured emotion into each of the
thousand notes of his song; and in each was to be found a
world of secrets. When he sang of these mysteries the birds
became silent. ‘The secrets of love are known to me,’ he
said. ‘All night I repeat my songs of love. Is there no
unhappy David to whom I can sing the yearning psalms of
love? The flute’s sweet wailing is because of me, and the
lamenting of the lute. I create a tumult among the roses as
well as in the hearts of lovers. Always I teach new mysteries,
at each instant I repeat new songs of sadness. When love
overpowers my soul my singing is as the sighing sea. Who
hears me forsakes his reason, though he be among the wise.
If I am parted from my dear Rose I am desolate, I cease my
singing and tell my secrets to none. Mv secrets are not
known to everyone; only to the Rose are they known with
certainty. So deep in love am I with the Rose that I do not
even think of my own existence; but only of the Rose and

( )

the coral of her petals. The journey to the Simurgh is beyond
my strength; the love of the Rose is enough for the Nightin-
gale. It is for me that she flowers with her hundred petals;
what more then can I wish! The Rose which blooms today
is full of longing, and for me smiles joyously. When she
shows her face under the veil I know that it is for me. How
then can the Nightingale remain a single night deprived of
the love of this enchantress?’

3

THE HOOPOE

The Hoopoe replied: ‘O Nightingale, you who would stay
behind dazzled by the exterior form of things, cease to
delight in an attachment so deluding. The love of the Rose
has many thorns; it has disturbed and dominated you.
Although the Rose is fair, her beauty is soon gone. One
who seeks self-perfection should not become the slave of a
love so passing. If the smile of the Rose arouses your desire
it will only fill your days and nights with lamentations.
Forsake the Rose and blush for yourself: for she laughs at
you with each new Spring and then she smiles no more.’

THE HOOPOE TELLS THE STORY OF THE
PRINCESS AND THE DERVISH

A king had a daughter as beautiful as the moon, who was
loved by ever}^one. Passion was awakened by her sleepy
eyes and by the sweet intoxication of her presence. Her face
was white as camphor, her hair musk-black. Jealousy of her
lips dried up a ruby of the finest water, while sugar melted
in them for shame.

By the will of destiny a dervdsh caught sight of her, and
the bread he held dropped from his hand. She passed him
like a flame, and as she passed, she laughed. At this the

(i6)

der\ush fell in the dust almost deprived of life. He could rest
neither by day nor night and wept continually. When he
thought of her smile he shed tears as a cloud drops rain.
This frantic love went on for seven years, the while he lived
in the street with dogs. At last her attendants resolved to
put an end to him. But the princess spoke to him in secret
and said: ‘How is it possible for there to be intimate rela>
tions between you and me? Go at once, or you will be
killed: don’t stay any longer at my door, but get up and go.’

The poor dervish replied: ‘The day I fell in love with you
I washed my hands of life. Thousands such as I sacrifice
themselves to your beauty. Since your men are bent on
killing me unjustly, answer one simple question. On the day
you became the cause of my death, why did you smile at
me?’ ‘O you fool,’ she said, ‘when I saw that you were
about to humiliate yourself, I smiled from pity. I am per-
mitted to smile from pity but not from mockery.’ So saying,
she vanished like a wisp of smoke, leaving the dervish
desolate.

4

THE PARROT

Then came the Parrot with sugar in her beak, dressed in a
garment of green, and round her neck a collar of gold. The
hawk is but a gnat beside her brilliance; earth’s green
carpet is the reflection of her feathers, and her words are
distilled sugar. Listen to her: ‘Vile men whose hearts are
iron have shut me in a cage, so charming am I. Held fast

(17)

in this prison I long for the source of the water of immor-
tality guarded by Khizr. Like him I am clothed in green, for
I am a Khizr among birds. I should like to go to the source
of this water, but a moth has not strength to lift itself to the
Simurgh's great wing ; the spring of Khizr is enough for me.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘O you who have no idea of felicity !
He who is not willing to renounce his life is no man. Life
has been given to you so that for an instant you may have
a worthy friend. Set out upon the Way, for you are not an
almond you are only the shell. Join the company of worthy
men and enter freely in their Way.’

THE FOOL OF GOD AND KHIZR

There was a man, mad from love of God. Khizr said to
him: ‘O perfect man, will you be my friend?’ He replied:
‘You and I are not compatible, for you have drunk long
draughts of the water of immortality so that you will always
exist, and I wish to give up my life. I am without friends and
do not know even how to support myself. Whilst you are
busy preserving your life, I sacrifice mine every day. It is
better that I leave you, as birds escape the snare, so,
good-bye.’

5

THE PEACOCK

Next came the golden Peacock, with feathers of a hundred —
what shall I say? — a hundred thousand colours! He dis-
played himself, turning this way and that, like a bride. ‘The
painter of the world,’ he said, ‘to fashion me took in his
hand the brush of the Jinn. But although I am Gabriel
among birds my lot is not to be envied. I was friendly with
the serpent in the earthly paradise, and for this was ignomin-
iously driven out. They deprived me of a position of trust,
they, who trusted me, and my feet were my prison. But I

(i8)

am always hoping that some benevolent guide will lead me
out of this dark abode and take me to the everlasting man-
sions. I do not expect to reach the king you speak of, it will
suffice me to reach his gate. How can you expect me to
strive to reach the Simurgh since I have lived in the earthly
paradise? I have no wish except to dwell there again.
Nothing else has any meaning for me.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘You are straying from the true
Way. The palace of this King is far better than your para-
dise. You cannot do better than to strive to reach it. It is
the habitation of the soul, it is eternity, it is the object of
our real desires, the dwelling of the heart, the seat of truth.
The Most High is a vast ocean; the paradise of earthly bliss
is only a little drop; all that is not this ocean is distraction.
When you can have the ocean why will you seek a drop of
evening dew? Shall he who shares the secrets of the sun idle
with a speck of dust? Is he who has all, concerned with the
part? Is the soul concerned with members of the body? If
you would be perfect seek the whole, choose the whole,
be whole.’

THE MASTER AND THE PUPIL

A pupil asked his Master: ‘Why was Adam obliged to leave
paradise?’ The Master replied: ‘When Adam, the noblest of
creatures, entered paradise he heard a resounding voice from
the invisible world: “O you who are attached to the earthly
paradise by a hundred bonds, know that whoever in the
two worlds is identified with that which comes between
him and me, I deprive of all that exists visibly, so that he
may become attached only to me, his true friend.” To a
lover, a hundred thousand lives are nothing without the
beloved. He who has lived for something other than Him,
were it Adam himself, has been driven out. The dwellers in
Paradise know that the first thing they must give up is their
heart.’

6

THE DUCK

Timidly the Duck came out of the water and went up to the
assembly, dressed in his finest robe, ' No one has ever spoken
to a creature prettier or purer than I,’ he said. ‘Every hour
I perform the customary ablutions, and then spread upon
the water the carpet of prayer. What bird can live and move
in the water as I do? In this I have a marvellous power.
Among birds I am a penitent of clear sight, of clean gar-
ments; and I live in a pure element. Nothing is more profit-
able to me than water, for in it I find my food and have my
dwelling. If troubles vex me I wash them away in water.
Clear water feeds the stream wherein I live, I love not the
dry earth. So, since my concern is only with water, why
should I leave it? All that lives, lives by water. How shall I
be able to cross the valleys and fly to the Simurgh? How
can one such as I, contented with the surface of the water,
have any longing to see the Simurgh?’

The Hoopoe said: ‘O you whose delight is in the water
which occupies your whole life! Indolently you drowse
there — but a wave comes and you are swept away. Water
is good only for those who have a fair countenance and a
clean face. If you are such, it is well! But how long will you
stay clean and pure as the water?’

STORY OF THE PIOUS MAN

Someone asked a saintly fool: ‘What are the two worlds
which always occupy our thoughts?’ He replied: ‘Both the
upper and the lower worlds are as a drop of water, which is

and which is not. It was a drop of water that manifested
itself in the beginning, and then it assumed many lovely
forms. All appearances are as water. Nothing is harder than
iron, yet it knows that water is its origin. But all that has
water for a basis, even iron, has no more reality than a
dream. Water is nothing stable.’

THE PARTRIDGE

The Partridge next approached, graceful yet self-satisfied.
Shyly she rises from her treasure of pearls in her garment of
the dawn. With blood-rimmed eyes and red beak she flies
with lightly-turning head, carrying her belt and sword.

She said : ‘I like to wander among ruins for I love precious
stones. They have lighted a fire in my heart and this satisfies
me. When I burn with desire for them the pebbles I have
swallowed become as if tinged with blood. But often I find
myself between stones and fire, inactive and perplexed. O my
friends, see how I live! Is it possible to awaken one who
sleeps on stones and swallows gravel?

‘My heart is wounded by a hundred sorrows because my
love for precious stones has bound me to the mountain.
Love for other things is transitory; the kingdom of the
jewels is eternal, they are the essence of the everlasdng
mountain. I know the mountains and the precious stones.
With my belt and my sword I am always seeking the
diamond, and I have yet to discover a substance of a loftier

nature than precious stones — even the pearl is not as beauti-
ful. Also, the way to the Simurgh is difficult, and my feet
are attached to the stones as if they were stuck in clay. How
can I expect to go bravely into the presence of the mighty
Simurgh, my hand on my head, my feet in the mud? Either
I will die or I will discover precious stones. My nobility is
evident, and he who does not share in my aim is not worth
considering.’

The Hoopoe said: ‘O you who have colours of all the
stones, you limp a little and give lame excuses. Your heart’s
blood stains your claws and beak, and your search demeans
you. What are jewels but coloured stones, yet the love of
them hardens your heart. Without their colours they would
be just ordinary little pebbles. He who possesses the perfume
does not seek the colour; he who has the essence will not
forsake it for the glitter of outward form. Seek the true
jewel of sound quality and no longer be content with a
stone.’

THE RING OF SOLOMON

No stone was ever so renowned as the stone in the Ring of
Solomon, yet it was quite a simple stone weighing no more
than half a dang. But when Solomon made a seal of it, the
whole earth came under his sway. His rule was established
and his law extended to the far horizons. Though the wind
carried his will to every quarter, he possessed only a stone
of half a dang. He said : ' Since my realm and rule depend
on this stone, from henceforth no one shall have such
power.’

Although Solomon became a great king because of his
seal, it was this that delayed his progress on the spiritual
path; and he came to the Paradise of Eden five hundred
years later than the other prophets. If a stone could produce
such a state in regard to Solomon, what could it do to a being

like you, poor Partridge? Turn your heart away from com-
mon jewels. Seek the true jewel and be always in quest of
the Good Jeweller.

8

THE HUMAY

Now the Humay stood before the assembly, the Giver of
Shade, whose shadow bestows pomp on kings. For this he
has received the name of ‘Humayun’, the fortunate, since
of all creatures he has the most ambition. He said: ‘Birds
of land and sea, I am not a bird as you are. A high ambition
moves me and to satisfy it I am separated from other
creatures. I have subdued the dog of desire, therefore are
Feridoon and Jamshid dignified. Kings are lifted up by the
influence of my shadow, but beggarly-natured men do not
please me. I give a bone to my dog of desire and put my
spirit in surety against it. How can men turn their head away
from him whose shadow creates kings? Beneath my wings
everyone seeks shelter. Do I need the friendship of the
lordly Simurgh when I have royalty at my disposition?’

The Hoopoe replied : ‘O slave of pride ! Spread no more
your shadow and boast no more of yourself. At this moment,
far from conferring power upon kings you are like a dog
busy with a bone. God forbid that you put a Chosroes on
the throne. But supposing that your shadow sets rulers on
their thrones, tomorrow they will meet misfortune and be
forever deprived of their royalty, while, if they had never
seen your shadow, they would not have to face so terrible a
reckoning on the last day.’

MAHMUD AND THE SAGE

A pious man who was on the true path saw Sultan Mahmud
in a dream and said to him: ‘O auspicious King, how are
things in the Kingdom of Eternity?’ The Sultan replied:

(23 )

‘ Strike my body if you wish but leave my soul alone. Say
nothing, and depart, for here one does not speak of royalty.
My power was only vanity and self-pride, conceit and error.
Can sovereignty exalt a handful of earth ? Sovereignty belongs
to God, the Master of the Universe. Now that I have seen
my weaknesses and my impotence, I am ashamed of my
royalty. If you wish to give me a title, give me that of “the
afflicted one”. God is the King of Nature, so do not call me
king. Empire belongs to him; and I would be happy now
to be a simple dervish on earth. Would to God he had a
hundred weUs to put me in so that I had not been a ruler.
Rather would I have been a gleaner in the cornfields. Call
Mahmud a slave. Give my blessings to my son Masud, and
say to him : “ If you would have understanding take warning
from your father’s state. May the wings and the feathers
wither of that Humay which cast its shadow upon me!”’

THE HAWK MAKES AN EXCUSE

Next came the Hawk, with head erect, and the bearing of a
soldier. He said: ‘I who delight in the company of kings pay
no regard to other creatures. I cover my eyes with a hood so
that I may put my feet on the king’s hand. I am perfectly
trained in polite behaviour and practise abstinence like any
penitent so that when I am taken before a king I can perform
my duties exactly as is expected of me. Why should I see the

(24)

Simurgh, even in a dream? Why should I rush heedlessly to
him? I do not feel called upon to take part in this journey.
I am content with a morsel from the king’s hand; his court
is good enough for me. He who plays for royal favours
obtains his desire; and to be agreeable to the king I have only
to take flight through the boundless valleys. I have no other
wish than to pass my life joyfully in this fashion — either
waiting for the king or hunting at his pleasure.’

REPLY OF THE HOOPOE

The Hoopoe said : ‘O you who are attached to the outward
form of things and have no care for essential values, the
Simurgh is a being whose royalty becomes him, because he
is unique in power. No true king exercises his will foolishly.
Such a one is faithful and forgiving. Though a worldly king
may often be just, he can also be guilty of injustice. The
nearer one is to him, the more delicate is one’s position.
A believer needs must offend a king, so his life is often
in danger. Since a king is compared to a fire, keep away!
O you who have lived near kings, take care I Listen to this :
There was once a noble king who had a slave whose body
was like silver. He loved him so much that he could not be
parted from him for a moment. He gave him the most
beautiful clothes and set him above his fellows. But the king
sometimes amused himself with shooting arrows, and would
place an apple on the head of his favourite and use it as a
target. And when he loosed his arrow, the slave would go
yellow with fear. One day, someone said to the slave: ‘‘Why
is your face the colour of gold? You are the favourite, then
why this mortal pallor?” He replied: “If the king were to
hit me instead of the apple, he would say: ‘This slave is
about the most useless thing in my court’; but when his
arrow hits the mark everyone attributes it to his skill. As
for me, in this painful situation, I can only hope that the
king will continue to shoot straight!”’

10

THE HERON

The Heron came in all haste and at once began to speak
about himself. ‘ My charming house is near the sea among
the lagoons, where none hears my song. I am so inoffensive
that no one complains of me. Sad and melancholy, I stand
pensively on the salt sea’s verge, my heart filled with longing
for the water, for if there were none what would become of
me! But since I am not one of those who dwell in the sea,
I am like to die, my lips parched, on its shore. Though the
waters boil and the waves break at my feet, I cannot swallow
a single drop; yet if the ocean should lose even a little of its
water my heart would burn with vexation. For a creature
such as I my passion for the sea is enough. I have not the
strength to go in quest of the Simurgh, so I ask to be
excused. How could one like me, who seeks only a drop of
water, possibly attain union with the Simurgh?’

Said the Hoopoe: ‘O ignorant of the sea, don’t you know
that it is full of crocodiles and other dangerous creatures?
Sometimes its water is bitter, sometimes salt; sometimes it is
calm, sometimes boisterous; always changing, never stable;
sometimes it flows, sometimes it ebbs. Many great ones have
been swallowed up in its abyss. The diver in its depths holds
his breath lest he should be thrown up like a straw. The sea
is an element devoid of loyalty. Do not trust it or it will end
by submerging you. It is resdess because of its love for its
friend. Sometimes it rolls great billows, sometimes it roars.
Since the sea cannot find what it desires, how will you find
c

(26)

there a resting place for your heart ! The ocean is a rill which
rises in the way that leads to its friend; why then should you
remain here content, and not strive to see the face of the
Simurgh?’

THE SAGE AND THE OCEAN

A sage, whose habit it was to ponder over the meaning of
things, went to Ocean and asked why it wore a garment of
blue, since this was the colour of mourning, and why did it
boil without fire?

Ocean replied to the man of contemplation : ^ I am troubled
because I am separated from my friend. Because of my in-
sufficiency I am not worthy of him, so I put on a garment of
blue as a sign of the remorse I feel. In my distress the beaches
of my lips are dried up, and because of the fire of my love I
am in a turmoil. Could I find but a single drop of the celestial
water of Kausar, I should be in possession of the gate of
eternal life. Lacking this drop I shall die from desire with
the thousand others who perish on the way.’

II

THE OWL

The Owl came forv'ard with a bewildered air and said: ‘I
have chosen for my dwelling a ruined and tumbledown
house. I was born among the ruins and there I take my
delight — but not in drinking wine. I know hundreds of
habited places, but some are in a state of confusion and
others in a state of hatred. He who wishes to live in peace

(^7)

must go to the ruins, as the madmen do. If I mope among
them it is because of hidden treasure. The love of treasure
draws me there, for it is to be found among the ruins. Also,
I can conceal my anxious quest, and hope to find a treasure
that is not protected by a talisman; if my foot should light
on one, my heart’s desire will be achieved. I well believe
that love toward the Simurgh is not a fable, for it is not
experienced by the heedless; but I am feeble, and am far
from being firm in his love, since I love only my treasure
and my ruins.’

The Hoopoe said to him: ‘O you who are drunk with
love of riches, suppose you do find a treasure ! Ah well, you
will die on this treasure, and life will have slipped away
without your having attained the high aim of which at least
you are aware. Love of gold is a characteristic of infidels.
He who makes an idol of gold is another Thare. Will you
not, perhaps, become as one of the Samiri of the Israelites
who made the golden calf ? Don’t you know that everyone
who has been corrupted by the love of gold will on the day
of resurrection have his face changed, like a false coin, to
the likeness of a mouse?’

THE MISER

A sot hid a coffer of gold, and soon after, died. A year later
the son saw his father in a dream, in the form of a mouse,
its two eyes full of tears. It was running backwards and
forwards on the place where the gold was hidden. His son
asked him: ‘What are you doing here?’ The father replied:
‘I hid some gold and have come to see if anyone has dis-
covered it.’ ‘Why do you have the form of a mouse?’ asked
the son. The father said: ‘ The soul of the man who has given
up everything for the love of money assumes this form. Take
note of me, O my son, and profit by what you see. Renounce
the love of gold!’

12

THE SPARROW

Then came the Sparrow, of feeble body and tender heart,
trembling like a flame from head to foot. She said: ‘I am
dumbfounded and crestfallen. I don’t know how to exist,
and I am frail as a hair. I have no one to help me and I have
not the strength of an ant. I have neither down nor feathers
— nothing. How can a weakling like me make her way to
the Simurgh? A sparrow could never do it. There is no lack
of those in the world who seek this union, but for a being
such as I it is not becoming. I do not wish to begin such a
toilsome journey for something I can never reach. If I should
start out for the court of the Simurgh I should be con-
sumed on the way. So since I am not at all fitted for this
enterprise I shall be content to seek here my Joseph in the
well. If I find him and draw him out I shall soar with him
from the fish to the moon.’

The Hoopoe replied : ‘O you, who in your despondency
are sometimes sad, sometimes gay, I am not deceived by
these artful pleas. You are a little hypocrite. Even in your
humility you show a hundred signs of vanity and pride. Not
another word, sew up your lips and put your foot forward.
If you bum, you will burn with the others. And don’t com-
pare yourself with Joseph!’

STORY OF JACOB

When Joseph was taken, his father Jacob lost his sight
because of the tears of blood that flowed from his eyes. The
name of Joseph was always on his lips. At last the Angel
Gabriel went to him and said : ‘ If ever again you utter the

(^9)

word ‘‘Joseph’’ I will strike your name from the roll of
prophets and messengers.’ When Jacob received this
message from God the name of Joseph was lifted from his
tongue, but he did not cease to repeat it in his heart. One
night he saw Joseph in a dream, and would have called to
him, but remembering God’s command, he beat his breast and
heaved a sad sigh from his immaculate heart. Then Gabriel
came : ‘ God says that although you have not pronounced the
name “Joseph” with your tongue, you have heaved a sigh,
and thus destroyed all the effect of your repentance.’

13

DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE HOOPOE AND
THE BIRDS

Then all the birds, one after another, began to make foolish
excuses. If I do not repeat them, pardon me, reader, for it
would take too long. But how can such birds hope to
entangle the Simurgh in their claws? So the Hoopoe con-
tinued her discourse:

‘He who prefers the Simurgh to his own life must struggle
bravely with himself. If your gizzard will not digest a single
grain how shall you share in the feasting of the Simurgh?
When you hesitate over a sip of wine how will you drink a
large cup, O paladin? If you have not the energy for an atom
how shall you find the treasure of the sun? If you can drown
in a drop of water, how will you go from the depths of the
sea to the heavenly heights? This is not a simple perfume;
and neither is it a task for him who has not a clean face,’
When the birds had thought this over they again spoke to
the Hoopoe: ‘You have taken upon yourself the task of
showing us the way, you, the best and most powerful of
birds. But we are feeble, with neither down nor feathers, so
how shall we be able at last to reach the Sublime Simurgh?
If we should arrive it would be a miracle. Tell us something

(3o)

about this marvellous Being by means of a similitude, or,
blind as we are, we shall understand nothing of the myster}\
If there were some relation between this Being and ourselves
it would be much easier for us to set out. But, as we see it,
he may be compared to Solomon, and we to begging ants.
How can an insect in the bottom of a pit mount up to the
great Simurgh? Shall royalty be the portion of the beggar?’

REPLY OF THE HOOPOE

The Hoopoe said: ‘O birds without aspiration! How shall
love spring bountifully in a heart devoid of sensibility?
Begging the question like this, which seems to gratify you,
will result in nothing. He who loves sets out with open eyes
towards his goal making a plaything of his life.

"When the Simurgh manifested himself outside the veil,
radiant as the sun, he produced thousands of shadows on
earth. When he cast his glance on these shadows there
appeared birds in great numbers. The different types of
birds that are seen in the world are thus only the shadow of
the Simurgh. Know then, O ignorant ones, that when you
understand this you will understand exactly your relation to
the Simurgh. Ponder over this mystery, but do not reveal it.
He who acquires this knowledge sinks into the immensity
of the Simurgh; though he must not think that he is God
on that account.

"If you become this of which I speak you will not be God,
but you will be immersed in God. Does a man thus im-
mersed become transubstantiated? When you understand
of whom you are the shadow you will become indifferent to
life or death. If the Simurgh had not wished to manifest him-
self he would not have cast his shadow; if he had wished to
remain hidden his shadow would not have appeared in the
world. All that which is produced by his shadow becomes
visible. If your spirit is not fit to see the Simurgh, neither
will your heart be a bright mirror, fit to reflect him. It is true

(30

that no eye is able to contemplate and marvel at his beauty,
nor is it capable of understanding ; one cannot feel towards
the Simurgh as one feels towards the beauty of this world.
But by his abounding grace he has given us a mirror to re-
flect himself, and this mirror is the heart. Look into your
heart and there you will see his image.’

THE CHARMING KING

There was once a king of incomparable charm and beauty.
The dawn was a flash of lightning from his countenance, the
Angel Gabriel an emanation of his fragrance and the king-
dom of beauty was the Koran of his secrets. The whole world
resounded with his fame, and his love was felt by every
creature. When he rode through the city he covered his face
with a crimson veil; but those who looked even at the veil
lost their heads, and those who uttered his name at once cut
out their tongues. Thousands died for love of him; others
gave their lives believing it better to die at once than to live
a hundred long lives away from him. An astonishing thing !
They could neither endure his presence for long nor could
they exist without him. However, to those who could endure
it he showed himself ; those who could not had to be content
to hear his voice. In consequence, the king ordered a mirror
to be made so that his face could be seen indirectly. The
mirror was put up in his palace, and he went and looked in
it, so that all could see his reflection.

So it is with you. If you cherish the beauty of your friend,
understand that your heart is the mirror, see in it your king
in the mansion of his glory. All appearances are nothing but
the mysterious shadow of the Simurgh. If he had revealed his
beauty to you, you would have recognized it in his shadow.
Whether there were thirty birds, ‘Si-murgh’, or forty, you
would only see his shadow. The Simurgh is not distinct from
his shadow, to hold the contrary is to err; the one and the
other exist together. Seek reunion ; or better, leave the shadow

(30

and you will discover the Secret. With good fortune you will
see the Sun in the shadow; but if you lose yourself in the
shadow, how will you achieve union with the Simurgh?

MAHMUD AND AYAZ

Aylz was afflicted with the evil eye, and had to leave the
court of the Sultan Mahmud. In despair he fell into a state
of despondency and lay on his bed and wept. When Mahmud
heard about it he said to one of his attendants: ‘Go to Ayaz
and say, “I know that you are sad, but I also am in the
same state. Though my body is far from you my spirit is
near. O you who love me, I am not absent from you for a
moment. The evil eye has indeed done ill in afflicting one so
charming.^’ ’ He added to his attendant: ‘Go at once, go like
fire, go as the rushing water, go as the lightning before the
thunder!’

The attendant set off like the wind and in no time reached
Ayaz. But he found the Sultan already there, sitting before
his slave. And trembling, he said to himself: ‘What a mis-
fortune to have to serve a king; no doubt my blood will be
shed today.’ Then he said to the Sultan: ‘I assure you that I
haven’t stopped for a moment, sitting or standing; how then
has the King got here before me? Does the King believe me?
If I have been negligent in any way I acknowledge my fault.’

‘You are not Mahram,’ said Mahmud, ‘how then should
you be able to travel as I have? I came by a secret way.
When I asked for news of Ayaz my spirit was already with
him.’

14

THE HOOPOE TELLS THEM ABOUT THE PROPOSED
JOURNEY

When she had finished her discourse the birds began to
understand something of the ancient mysteries, and the
relation between themselves and the Simurgh. But though

(33 )

they were seized with a desire to make the journey they
flinched from setting out, for doubts still disturbed their
minds, so they said to the Hoopoe : ‘ Do you wish us to give
up our tranquil lives at once? We feeble birds by ourselves
cannot expect to find the way to that sublime abode where
the Simurgh has his being.’

The Hoopoe replied: H speak to you as your guide. He
who loves does not think about his own life; to love truly
a man must forget about himself, be he ascetic or libertine.
If your desires do not accord with your spirit, sacrifice them,
and you will come to the end of your journey. If the body of
desire obstructs the way, reject it; then fix your eyes in front
and contemplate. An ignorant person will ask, ‘‘What con-
nection is there between belief or unbelief, and love?” But
I say, “Do lovers regard their lives? The lover sets fire to
all hope of harvest, he puts the blade to his neck, he pierces
his body. With love comes sorrow and the heart’s blood.
Love loves the diflScult things.”

‘O Cup-bearer! Fill my cup with the blood of my heart
and if there be no more, give me the lees. Love is a cruel
pain that devours every^thing. Sometimes it tears the veil
from the soul, sometimes it draws it together. An atom of
love is preferable to all that exists between the horizons, an
atom of its pain better than the happy love of all lovers.
Love is the 'very marrow of beings ; but there can be no real
love without real suffering. Whoever is grounded firm in
love renounces faith, religion, and unbelief. Love will open
the door of spiritual poverty and poverty will show you the
way of unbelief. When there remains neither unbelief nor
religion, your body and your soul will disappear; you will
then be worthy of the mysteries — if you would fathom them,
this is the only way.

‘Go forward then, without fear. Forsake childish things
and, above all, take courage; for a hundred vicissitudes will
come upon you unawares.’

(34)

STORY OF SHAIKH SAN’aN

The Shaikh San’an was a saintly man in his day, and had
perfected himself to a high degree. For fifty years he had
remained in his retreat with four hundred disciples, who
worked on themselves day and night. He had great know-
Ir-dge, and benefited by outer and inner revelation. Much
of his life had been spent in making pilgrimages to Mecca.
His prayers and fasts were without number and he omitted
none of the practices of the Sunnites. He could work
miracles, and his breath healed the sick and depressed.

One night he dreamed that he went from Mecca to Greece
and there worshipped an idol; and waking grief-stricken
from this oppressive dream he said to his disciples: ‘I must
set out at once for Greece to see if I can discover the meaning
of this dream.’

With his four hundred disciples he left the Ka’aba and in
time arrived in Greece. They travelled from end to end of
that country, and one day by chance came to where a young
girl was sitting on a balcony. This girl was a Christian, and
the expression of her face showed that she possessed the
faculty of pondering on the things of God. Her beauty was
like the sun in splendour, and her dignity as the Signs of the
Zodiac. From jealousy of her radiance the morning star
loitered above her house. Who caught his heart in her hair
put on the belt of a Christian; whose desire lighted on the
ruby of her lips lost his head. The morn took on a darker
tint because of her black hair, the land of Greece wrinkled
up because of the beauty of her freckles. Her two eyes were
a lure for lovers; her arched brows formed tender sickles
over twin moons. When power lighted the pupils of her
eyes a hundred hearts became her prey. Her face sparkled
like a living flame, and the moist rubies of her lips could
make a whole world thirst. Her languorous lashes were a
hundred daggers, and her mouth was so small that even
words could not pass. Her waist, slender as a hair, was

(35)

squeezed through her zunnar; and the silver dimple of her
chin was as vivifying as the discourses of Jesus.

When she lifted a corner of her veil the heart of the
shaikh took fire; and a single hair bound his loins with a
hundred zunnars. He could not take his eyes from this
young Christian, and such was his love that his will slipped
from his hands. Unbelief from her hair strewed itself on his
faith. He cried out: "Oh, how terrible is this love that I have
for her. When religion leaves you, of what good is the
heart!’

When his companions understood what had happened,
and saw the state he was in, they held their heads in their
hands. Some began to reason with him, but he refused to
listen. He could only stand day and night, his eyes fixed on
the balcony and his mouth open. The stars that glowed like
lamps borrowed heat from this holy man whose heart was
on fire. His love grew until he was beside himself. "O
Lord,’ he prayed, ‘in my life I have fasted and suffered, but
never have I suffered like this; I am in torment. The night is
as long and as black as her hair. Where is the lamp of
Heaven? Have my sighs extinguished it or has it hidden
itself from jealousy? Where is my good fortune? Why does
it not help me to get the love of this girl? Where is my
reason to make use of my knowledge? Where is my hand to
put dust on my head? Where is my foot to walk to my
beloved, and my eye to see her face? Where is my beloved to
give me her heart? What is this love, this grief, this pain?’

The friends of the shaikh came again to him. One said:
‘O worthy shaikh, lift yourself up and drive away this
temptation. Take hold of yourself and perform the ordained
ablutions.’ He replied: ‘Do you not know that this night I
have made a hundred ablutions, and with my heart’s blood?’
Another said: ‘Where is your chaplet? How can you pray
without it?’ He replied: ‘I have thrown away my chaplet so
that I may girdle myself with a Christian zunnar.’ Another

(56)

said : ‘O saintly old man, if you have sinned repent without
delay.’ ‘I repent now,’ he replied, ‘of having followed the
true law, and I only wish to give up that absurdity.’ Another
said: ‘Leave this place and go and worship God.’ He
replied: ‘If my idol were here it would become me to bow
down before her.’ Another said: ‘Then, you will not even
try to repent! Are you no longer a follower of Islam?’ The
shaikh replied: ‘No one repents more than I that I was not
in love until now.’ Another said: ‘The infernal regions are
waiting for you if you continue on this path; but watch
yourself, and you will avoid them.' He replied: ‘If heU is
there it is only from my sighs, which would feed seven hells.’

Seeing that their words produced no effect on the shaikh,
although they pleaded with him all night, his friends went
away. Meanwhile the Turk of the Morning, with sabre and
golden buckler, cut off the head of Black Night, so that the
world of illusion was bathed in the radiance of the Sun.
The shaikh, plaything of his love, wandered with the dogs,
and for a month sat in the street hoping to see her face. The
dust was his bed and her doorstep his pillow.

Then the beautiful Christian, seeing that he was hopelessly
in love, veiled herself, and went out and said to him:
‘O shaikh, how is it that you, an ascetic, are so drunk with
the wine of polytheism, and sit in a Christian street in such
a state? If you adore me like this you will go mad.’ The
shaikh replied: ‘It is because you have stolen my heart.
Either give it back or accept my love. If you wish I will lay
down my life for you, but you may restore that life by a
touch of your lips. Because of you my heart is on fire. I have
shed tears like rain and my eyes have lost their sight. Where
my heart was there is only blood. If I were united to you my
life would be restored. You are the sun, I the shadow. I am
a lost man, but if you will incline to me I will take under my
wing the seven cupolas of the world. Do not leave me, I
implore you 1 ’

(37)

‘O you old driveller!’ she said, ‘aren’t you ashamed to
use camphor for your winding sheet? You should blush for
suggesting intimacy with me with your cold breath! You
had better wrap yourself in a shroud than spend your time
on me. You cannot inspire love. Go away!’

The shaikh replied : ‘ Say what you will, I still love you.
What does it matter whether one is young or old, love
affects all hearts.’

She said: ‘Very well, if you are not to be denied, listen to
me. You must wash your hands of Islam; for love which is
not identified with its beloved is only colour and perfume.’

He said: ‘I will do all that you wish. I will undertake all
that you command, you, whose body is like silver. I am
your slave. Put a lock of your hair on my neck to remind
me of my slavery.’

‘If you are a man of action,’ said the young Christian, ‘you
must do four things : prostrate yourself before the idols, burn
the Koran, drink wine, and shut your eyes to your religion.’

He said : ‘ I will drink wine to your beauty but the other
three things I cannot do,’ ‘Very well,’ she said, ‘come and
drink wine with me, then you will soon accept the other
conditions.’

She led him to a temple of magicians, where he saw a
very strange gathering. They sat down to a banquet at which
the hostess was distinguished by her beauty. His beloved
handed him a cup of wine, and when he took it and looked
at the smiling rubies of her lips, like two lids of a casket,
the fire blazed in his heart and a stream of blood rushed to
his eyes. He tried to recall the sacred books he had read and
written on religion, and the Koran that he knew so well;
but when the wine passed from the cup into his stomach he
forgot them all; his spiritual knowledge was washed away.
He lost his free will and let slip his heart from his hand.
When he tried to put his hand on her neck, she said: ‘You
only pretend to love. You do not understand the mystery

(38)

of love. If you are sure of your love you may find the way
to my curled locks. Lose yourself in unbelief by the way
of my tangled ringlets; follow the locks of my hair, and you
may put your hand on my neck. But if you do not wish to
follow my way, get up and go; and take the cloak and staff
of a faquir.’

At this, the amorous shaikh was crestfallen; and now he
yielded without more ado to his destiny. The wine he had
drunk made his head as uncertain as a compass. The wine
was old and his love was young. How could he have been
otherwise than drunk and in love?

'O Splendour of the Moon,’ he said, ‘tell me what you
wish. If I was not an idolater before I lost my wits, now that
I am drunk I will burn the Koran before the idol.’

The young beauty said: ‘You are now really my man.
You are worthy of me. Till now you were uncooked in love,
but having acquired experience you are roasted. Good!’

When the Christians heard that the shaikh had embraced
their faith they carried him, still drunk, into the church and
told him to girdle himself with a zunnar. He did this and
threw his dervdsh mantle into the fire, forsook the Faith,
and delivered himself up to the practices of the Christian
religion.

He said to the girl: ‘O charming lady, no one has ever
done as much for a woman as I have done. I have wor-
shipped your idols, I have drunk wine, and I have given
up the true Faith. All this I have done for love of you, and
that I may have you.’

Again she said to him: ‘Old driveller, slave of love, how
can a woman such as I be united to a faquir? I need silver
and gold, and since y^ou have none, take your head and go.’

The shaikh said: ‘O lovely woman, your body is a cypress
and your breasts are silver. If you repulse me you will drive
me to despair. The thought of possessing you has thrown
me into a turmoil. On account of you my friends have

( 39)

become my enemies. As you are, so are they; what shall I
do? O my beloved, I had rather be in hell with you than in
paradise without you.’

At last she relented, and the shaikh became her man, and
she too began to feel the flame of love. But to try him further
she said: ‘Now, for my dowry, O imperfect man, go and
look after my herd of pigs for the space of a year, and then
we shall pass our lives together in joy or sadness!’ Without
a protest, this shaikh of the Ka’aba, this saint, resigned him-
self to becoming a hog-ward.

In the nature of each of us there are a hundred pigs. O you,
who are non-entities, you are thinking only of the danger
that the shaikh was in 1 The danger is to be found in each one
of us, and it raises its head from the moment we start out on
the path of self-knowledge. If you do not know your own
pigs then you do not know the Path. But if you do set out
you will meet a thousand pigs — a thousand idols. Drive
away these pigs, burn these idols on the plain of love; or
else be like the shaikh, dishonoured by love.

Well, then, when the news spread that the shaikh had
become a Christian, his companions were in great distress
and all but one went away, who said to him: ‘Tell us the
secret of this matter so that we may become Christians with
you. We do not wish you to remain an apostate alone, so
we will take the Christian zunnar. If you do not agree we
shall return to the Ka’aba and spend our time in prayer in
order not to see that which we* see now.’

The shaikh said: ‘My soul is full of sadness. Go where
your wishes carry you. As for me, the church is my place,
and the young Christian my destiny. Do you know why you
are free? It is because you are not in my position. If you
were, I should have a companion in my unhappy love. Re-
turn then, dear friend, to the Ka’aba, for no one can share
my present state. If they should ask about me say: “His
eyes are full of blood, his mouth full of poison; he remains

(4°)

in the jaws of the dragons of violence. No infidel wQuld
consent to do what this proud Musulman has done by the
effect of destiny. A young Christian has caught his neck in
a noose of her hair.” If they reproach me, say that many fall
by the way on this road which has neither beginning nor
end, but some by chknce will be safe from descent and
danger.’ With this he turned his face from his friend and
went back to the herd.

His followers, who had been watching from a distance,
wept bitterly. Finally, they journeyed back to the Ka’aba,
and ashamed and bewildered hid themselves in a corner.

Now in the Ka’aba there was a friend of the shaikh who
was a seer, and who was on the true path. No one knew the
shaikh better than he, though he had not accompanied him
to Greece. When this man asked for news the disciples
related all that had happened to the shaikh, and they asked
what ugly branch of a tree had pierced his breast, and
whether this had happened by the will of fate. They said
that a young infidel had bound him with a single hair and
barred him from the hundred ways of Islam. "He dallies with
her ringlets and freckles, and has burnt his khirka. He has
forsaken his religion and now girdled with a zunnar he looks
after a herd of pigs. But though he has staked his very soul
we feel there is still hope.’

Hearing this, the disciple’s face turned the colour of gold,
and he began to lament bitterly. Then he said: ‘Companions
in misfortune, in religion there is neither man nor woman.
When an unfortunate friend needs help it sometimes happens
that only a single person in a thousand can be of use.’ He
then reproached them for leaving the shaikh and said that
they should even have become Christians for his sake. He
added: ‘A friend must remain a friend. It is in misfortune
that you discover on whom you can rely; for in good
fortune you will have a thousand friends. Now that the
shaikh has fallen into the crocodile’s jaws everyone stays

(41 )

away from him in order to keep their reputation. If you shun
him because of this strange happening you will have been
tried and found wanting.’

‘We offered to stay with him/ they said, ‘and even agreed
to become idolaters. But he is an experienced and learned
man, and we trust him, so when he told us to go, we
returned here.’

The faithful disciple replied: ‘If you really wish to act
you must knock on the door of God; then, by prayer, you
will be admitted to his presence. You should have been
pleading with God for your shaikh, each reciting a different
prayer; and God, seeing your bewildered state, would have
given him back to you. Why have you refrained from knock-
ing at the door of God?’

At this they were ashamed to raise their heads. But he
said: ‘This is no time for regrets. Let us go now to the
court of God. Let us lie in the dust, and cover ourselves with
the garment of supplication that we may recover our leader! ’

The disciples at once set out for Greece, and having
arrived there remained near the shaikh. For forty days and
forty nights they prayed. During these forty days and forty
nights they neither ate nor slept; they tasted neither bread
nor water. At last the power of the prayers of these sincere
men made itself felt in Heaven. Angels and archangels and
all the Saints robed in green oii the heights and in the
valleys, now arrayed themselves in the garments of mourn-
ing. The arrow of prayer had reached its mark. When morn-
ing came, a musk-laden zephyr blew softly upon the faithful
disciple at prayer in his cell, and the world was unveiled to
his spirit. He saw the Prophet Muhammad approaching,
radiant as the morn, two locks of hair falling upon his breast;
the shadow of God was the sun of his countenance, the desire
of a hundred worlds was attached to each of his hairs. His
gracious smile drew all men to him. The disciple rose up and
said: ‘O messenger of God, the guide of all creatures, help

D

(42)

me! Our shaikh has strayed. Show him the way, I implore
you in the name of the Most High I ’

Muhammad said: ‘O you who see things with the inner
eye, because of your efforts your pure desires shall be
gratified. Between the shaikh and God there has been for
a long time a black speck; but I have poured out the dew
of supplication and have scattered it on the dust of his exis-
tence. He has repented and his sin is wiped away. The faults
of a hundred worlds can disappear in the vapour of a
moment of repentance. When the ocean of good-will is
moved its waves wash out the sins of men and women.’

The disciple uttered a cry that moved all heaven. He ran
and told his companions the good news, then weeping for
joy hastened to where the shaikh was keeping the pigs. But
the shaikh was as a fire, as one illumined. He had cast off the
Christian belt, thrown away the girdle, torn the bonnet of
drunkenness from his head and renounced Christianity.
He saw himself as he was and shedding tears of remorse
lifted his hands to heaven; all that he had forsaken — the
Koran, the mysteries and prophecies, came back to him,
and he was delivered from his misery and folly. They said to
him: ‘Now is the hour of gratitude and thankfulness. The
Prophet has interceded for you. Thanks be to God that he
has lifted you out of an ocean of pitch and placed your foot
on the way of the Sun.’

The shaikh thereupon resumed his khirka, performed his
ablutions, and set out for the Hejaz.

While this was happening the Christian girl saw in a
dream the sun descending to her, and heard these words:
‘Follow your shaikh, embrace his faith, be his dust. You
who are soiled, be pure as he is now. You led him in your
way, enter now in his.’

She woke; a light broke on her spirit, and she longed to
set out on her quest. Her hand seized her heart, and her
heart fell from her hand. But when she realized that she was

(45)

alone, and had no idea of the way, her joy was changed to
weeping and she ran out to throw dust on her head. Then
she started out in pursuit of the shaikh and his disciples; but
growing wear}^ and distraught, covered with sweat, she
threw herself on the ground and cried out: ‘May God the
Creator forgive me! I am a woman, disgusted with life. Do
not strike me down, for I struck you in ignorance and
through ignorance committed many faults. Forget the ill I
have done. I accept the true Faith.’

An inner voice apprised the shaikh of this. He 'stopped,
and said: ‘That young girl is no longer an infidel. Light has
come to her and she has entered our Way. Let us go back.
One can now be intimately bound to one’s idol without sin.’

But his companions said: ‘Now what is the use of all
your repentance and remorse! Are you going back to your
love?’ He told them of the voice he had heard, and reminded
them that he had renounced his former ways. So they went
back until they came to where the girl lay. Her face had
gone the colour of yellow gold, her feet were bare, her dress
torn. As the shaikh bent down to her she swooned away.
When she came to herself her tears fell like dew from roses,
and she said: ‘I am consumed with shame because of you.
Lift the veil of the secret and instruct me in Islam so that I
may walk in the Way.’

When this fair idol was at last numbered among the faith-
ful, the companions shed tears of joy. But her heart was
impatient to be delivered from sorrow. ‘O shaikh,’ she said,
‘my strength is gone. I wish to leave this dusty deafening
world. Farewell, Shaikh San’an. I confess my faults.
Pardon me, and let me go.’

So this moon of beauty who had had no more than half
a life, shook it from her hand. The sun hid itself behind the
clouds while her sweet soul separated itself from her body.
She, a drop in the ocean of illusion, had returned to the true
ocean.

(44)

We all leave as the wind; she is gone and we also shall
go. Such things often happen in the way of love. There is
despair and mercy, illusion and security. Though the body
of desire cannot understand the secrets, adversity cannot
knock away the polo ball of good fortune. One must hear
with the ear of the mind and the heart, not with that of the
body. The struggle of the spirit with the body of desire is
unending. Lament! For there is cause to mourn.

15

THE BIRDS Discuss THE PROPOSED JOURNEY
TO THE SIMURGH

When they had pondered over the story of Shaikh San’an,
the birds decided to give up all their former way of life. The
thought of the Simurgh lifted them out of their apathy; love
for him alone filled their hearts, and they began to consider
how to Start on the journey. They said: ‘First, we must have
a guide to tie and untie the knots. We need a leader who will
tell us what to do, one who can save us from this deep sea.
We will obey him from our hearts and do what he says, be
it pleasant or unpleasant, so that our ball will fall on the
mallet of the Caucasus. Then the atom will be united to the
majestic sun; and the shadow of the Simurgh will fall on us.
Now, let us draw lots for a leader. He on whom the lot falls
shall be our guide; he shall be great among the small.’

Then began a commotion, everyone talking at once, but
when everything was ready, the twittering and chattering
died down and the birds fell silent. The drawing was con-
ducted with due ceremony, and eventually the lot fell on
the spirited Hoopoe. All with one accord agreed and pro-
mised to obey her even at the risk of their lives, and to spare
neither soul nor body. The Hoopoe came forward and a
crown was placed on her head.

(45 )

At the setting-out place, so great was the number of birds
who flocked there that they hid the moon and the fish; but
when they saw the entrance to the first valley, they flew up
to the clouds in fright. Then, with much fluttering of wings
and feathers and mutual encouragement, their eagerness to
renounce ever}"thing revived. But the task before them was
heavy and the way was long. Silence brooded over the road
which stretched before them and a bird asked the Hoopoe
why it was so deserted. ‘Because of the awe that the King
inspires, to whose dwelling it leads" she answered.

ANECDOTE OF BAYAZID BISTAMI

One night when the Shaikh Bayazid went out from the town
he noticed that a profound silence lay over the plain. The
moon lighted the world making the night as bright as day.
The stars clustered according to their sympathies, and each
constellation had its special function. The shaikh walked on
without seeing any movement or a single soul. His heart
was stirred and he said: ‘Lord, a piercing sadness moves me.
Why is it that a court so sublime is without eager wor-
shippers?" ‘Be not amazed," an inner voice answered, ‘the
King does not admit ever^^one to his court. His dignity does
not suffer him to receive tramps at his door. When the sanc-
tuary of our splendour sheds its effulgence it disdains the
sleepy and the heedless. You are one of a thousand who
crave admission and you must wait patiently."

l6

THE BIRDS SET OUT

Fear and apprehension drew plaintive cries from the birds
as they faced a road without end, where the strong wind of
detachment from earthly things split the vault of heaven. In
their anxiety they crowded together and asked the Hoopoe

(46)

for advice. They said: ‘We do not know how we should
present ourselves to the King with due reverence. But you
have been in the presence of Solomon, and know the usages
of etiquette. Also you have ascended and descended this
road, and many times flown round the earth. You are our
Imam, to bind and to loose. We ask you now to go up into
the minabar and instruct us. Tell us about the road and
about the King’s court and the ceremonies there, for we do
not wish to behave foolishly. Also, all kinds of difficulties
arise in our minds, and for this journey one needs to be free
from disquiet. We have many questions to ask, and we wish
you to resolve our misgivings, otherwise we shall not see
clearly on this long road.’

The Hoopoe then set the crown on her head, sat on her
throne and disposed herself to speak to them. When the
army of birds was ranged in front of her in ranks, the
Nightingale and the Turtle-dove went up and as two readers
with the same voice together gave forth a melody so sweet
that all who heard were lifted out of themselves. Then one
after another, a number of birds went up to her to speak
about their difficulties and to make excuses.

17

SPEECH OF THE FIRST BIRD

The first bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘O you who have been
made our leader, tell us what makes you stand out from us.
Since you seem to be as us, and we as you, in what lies the
difference? What sins of the body or of the soul have we
committed that we are ignorant while you have under-
standing?’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘Know, O bird, that Solomon once
saw me by chance; and that my good fortune was not the
result of gold or silver, but of this lucky meeting. How can

(47)

a creature profit from obedience alone? Iblis himself obeys.
Nevertheless, if anyone counsels the rejection of obedience
then malediction shall be on him for ever. Practise obedience
and you will win a glance from the true Solomon.’

MAHMUD AND THE FISHERMAN

Sultan Mahmud was once separated from his army, and all
alone galloped away like the wind. By and by he saw a
small boy sitting on the bank of a river into which he had
cast his net. The Sultan went up to him and noticing that
he was dejected and depressed said: ‘Dear child, what makes
you so sad? Never have I seen anyone so cast down.’ ‘O
Illustrious Prince,’ he replied, ‘there are seven of us; we
have no father, and our mother is very poor. Each day I
come and try to catch fish for supper. Only when I succeed
in landing some do we have an evening meal.’

‘Would you like me to have a try?’ asked the Sultan. The
boy consenting, the Sultan cast the net, which, sharing in
his good fortune quickly took a hundred fish. At this, the
boy said to himself^, ‘My fortune is astonishing. What luck
that all these fish have tumbled into my net.’ But the Sultan
said: ‘Don’t deceive yourself, my child, I am the cause of
your good luck. The Sultan has caught these fish for you.’
So saying, he mounted his horse. The boy asked him to
take his share, but the Sultan refused, saying that he would
take the next day’s catch. ‘ Tomorrow, you shall fish for me,’
he said. He then returned to his palace. Next day he sent one
of his officers for the boy. When they arrived he made the
boy sit on the throne beside him. ‘ Sire,’ said one of his
courtiers, ‘this boy is a beggar!’ ‘Never mind,’ replied the
Sultan, ‘he is now my companion. Seeing that we have
formed a partnership I cannot send him away.’ So the Sultan
treated him as an equal. At last someone asked the boy,
‘How has it come about that you are so honoured?’ The boy

(48)

replied: 'Joy has come, and sorrow is past, because I met
with a fortunate monarch.’

MAHMUD AND THE WOODCUTTER

Another time when Sultan Mahmud was riding alone he
met an old woodcutter leading his donkey loaded with
brambles. At that moment the donkey stumbled, and as he
fell the thorns skinned the old man’s head. The Sultan
seeing the brambles on the ground, the donkey upside
down, and the man rubbing his head, asked; ‘O unlucky
man, do you need a friend?’ 'Indeed I do,’ replied the
woodcutter. 'Good cavalier, if you will help me I shall reap
the benefit and you will come to no harm. Your looks are a
good omen for me. It is well known that one meets with
good-will from those who have a pleasing countenance.’ So
the kind-hearted Sultan got off his horse, and having pulled
the donkey to its feet, lifted up the faggot of thorns and
fastened it on its back. Then he rode off to rejoin his army.
He said to the soldiers : 'An old woodcutter is coming along
with a donkey loaded with brambles. Bar the way so that he
will have to pass in front of me.’ When the woodcutter came
up to the soldiers he said to himself, ' How shall I get through
with this feeble beast?’ So he went by another way, but
catching sight of the royal parasol in the distance began to
tremble, for the road he was compelled to take would bring
him face to face with the Sultan. As he got nearer he was
overcome with confusion for under the parasol he saw a
familiar face. 'O God,’ he said, 'what a state I’m in! Today
I have had Mahmud for my porter.’

When he came up, Mahmud said to him: ‘My poor friend,
what do you do for a living?’ The woodcutter replied, 'You
know already. Be honest. You don’t recognize me? I am a
poor old man, a woodcutter by trade; day and night I gather
brambles in the desert and sell them, yet my donkey dies of

(49)

hunger. If you wish me well give me some bread.’ ‘You
poor man,’ said the Sultan, ‘how much do you want for your
faggot?’ The woodcutter replied: ‘Since you do not wish to
take it for nothing and I do not wish to sell it, give me a
purse of gold.’ At this the soldiers cried out: ‘Hold your
tongue, fool! Your faggot is not worth a handful of barley.
You should give it for nothing.’ The old man said: ‘That is
all very well, but its value has changed. When a lucky man
like the Sultan puts his hands to my bundle of thorns they
become bunches of roses. If he wishes to buy them he must
pay a dinar at the very least for he has raised the value of
my thorns a hundred times by touching them.’

i8

SPEECH OF THE SECOND BIRD

Another bird came up to the Hoopoe and said: ‘O protec-
tress of the army of Solomon! I have not the strength to
undertake this journey. I am too weak to cross the valleys.
The road is so difficult that I shall lie down and die at the
first stage. There are volcanoes in the way. Also, it is not
expedient for everyone to engage in such an enterprise.
Thousands of heads have rolled like the balls in polo, for
many have perished who went in quest of the Simurgh. On
such a road, where many sincere creatures have hidden their
heads in fear, what shall become of me, who am only dust?’

The Hoopoe replied : ‘O you of the doleful countenance I
Why is your heart so oppressed? Since you are of so little
value in the world it is all the same whether you be young
and valiant or old and feeble. The world is truly ordure;
creatures perish there at every door. Thousands turn yellow
as silk, and perish in the midst of tears and affliction. It is
better to lose your life in the quest than to languish miser-
ably. If we should not succeed, but die of grief, ah well, so

( 5°)

much the worse, but, since errors are numerous in this
world, we may at least avoid acquiring new ones. Thousands
of creatures are craftily occupied in the pursuit of the dead
body of the world; so, if you give yourself up to this com-
merce, above all with guile, will you be able to make your
heart an ocean of love? Some say that the wish for spiritual
things is presumption, and that no mere upstart can attain
them. But isn’t it better to sacrifice one’s life in pursuit of
this desire than to be identified with a business? I have seen
everything and done everything, and nothing will shake my
resolve. For a long time I have had to do with men and have
seen how few there be who are truly unattached to riches.
So long as we do not die to ourselves, and so long as we
are identified with someone or something, we shall never
be free. The spiritual way is not for those wrapped up in
exterior life. Set your foot in this Way if you are a man who
can act, and do not indulge in feminine shifts. Know surely,
that even if this quest were impious, it would still be neces-
sary to undertake it. Certainly, it is not easy; the fruit is
without leaves on the tree of love. Tell him who has leaves
to renounce them.

‘When love possesses a man it lifts his heart, it plunges
him in blood, it throws him prostrate outside the curtain, it
gives him no rest for a single instant; it kills him yet still
demands the price of blood. He drinks the water of tears
and eats bread leavened with mourning; but be he more
feeble than an ant, love will lend him strength.’

ANECDOTE OF A CONTEMPLATIVE

A madman, a fool of God, went naked when other men
went clothed. He said: ‘O God, give me a beautiful garment,
then I shall be content as other men.’ A voice from the
unseen world answered him : ‘ I have given you a warm sun,
sit down and revel in it.’ The madman said: ‘Why punish

(51)

me? Haven’t you a better garment than the sun?’ The voice
said: ‘Wait patiently for ten days, and without more ado I
will give you another garment.’ The sun scorched him for
eight days; then a poor man came along and gave him a
garment which had a thousand patches. The fool said to
God : ‘O you who have knowledge of hidden things, why
have you given me this patched-up garment? Have you
burnt all your garments and had to patch up this old one?
You have sewn together a thousand garments. From whom
have you learned this art?’

It is not easy to have dealings at the Court of God. A man
must become as the dust of the road which leads there. After
a long struggle he thinks he has reached the goal only to
discover that it is still to be attained.

STORY OF RABi’ah

Rabi’ah, although a woman, was the crown of men. She
once spent eight years making a pilgrimage to the Ka’aba
by measuring her length on the ground. When at last she
reached the door of the sacred temple she thought: ‘ Now at
last, have I performed my task.’ On the consecrated day,
when she was to go in to the Ka’aba, her women deserted
her. So Rabi’ah retraced her steps and said: ‘O God, posses-
sor of glory, for eight years I have measured the way with
the length of my body, and now, when the longed-for day
has come in answer to my prayers, you put thorns in my
way!’

To understand the importance of such an incident it is
necessary to discover a lover of God like Rabi’ah. So long
as you float on the deep ocean of the world its waves will
receive and repel you, turn by tura At times you will be
admitted into the Ka’aba, sometimes you will sigh in a
pagoda. If you succeed in withdrawing from the attach-
ments of the world you will enjoy felicity; but if you

( 50

remain attached your head will turn like the grindstone of
a mill. Not for a moment will you be tranquil; you will be
upset by a single fly.

THE FOOL OF GOD

It was the custom of a poor man in love with God to stand
in a certain place; and one day a king of Egypt who had
often passed him with his courtiers, stopped, and said: ‘I
see in you a certain quality of tranquillity and relaxation.’
The fool replied: "How should I be tranquil, seeing that I
am delivered up to the flies and the fleas? All day the flies
torment me, and at night the fleas won’t let me sleep. One
tiny fly which entered the ear of Nimrod troubled the brain
of that idiot for centuries. Perhaps I am the Nimrod of these
times for I have had my share of my friends, the flies and the
fleas.’

19

SPEECH OF THE THIRD BIRD

The third bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘I am full of faults, so
how shall I set out on the road? Can a dirty fly be worthy
of the Simurgh of the Caucasus? How can a sinner who
turns away from the true path approach the King?’

The Hoopoe said: ‘O despondent bird, do not be so
hopeless, ask for grace and favour. If you so lightly throw
away the shield your task truly will be difficult.’

ANECDOTE OF A CRIMINAL

A man guilty of many sins repented bitterly and returned to
the right path. But in time, his desire for the things of the
world returned stronger than ever, and he again surrendered
himself to evil thoughts and acts. Then sorrow wrung his
heart and reduced him to a miserable state. Again he wished

(55)

to change his attitude, but had not the strength to do so.
Day and night as a grain of wheat in a hot pan, his heart
could not keep still, and his tears watered the dust. One
morning, a mysterious voice spoke to him: ‘Listen to the
Lord of the World. When you repented the first time I
accepted your penitence. Though I could have punished
you I did not do so. A second time when you fell into sin
I gave you a respite, and now even in my anger I have not
caused you to die. And today, O fool, you acknowledge
your perfidy and wish to return to me a third time. Return
then, to the Way. I open my door to you and wait. When
ydU have truly changed your attitude your sins will be
forgiven.’

THE ANGEL GABRIEL AND THE GOOD INTENTION

One night, when the Angel Gabriel was in the Sidrah he
heard God pronounce the words of consent, and he said to
himself: ‘A serv^ant of God at this moment invokes the
Eternal, but who can he be? I only know that he must be
of great merit, that his body of desire is dead and that his
spirit is living.’ And at once he set off to find this happy
mortal. But though he searched the earth and the islands,
the mountains and the plains, he could not find him. So
he returned to God, and again heard a favourable response
to the prayer.

Once more he flew over earth and sea, but at last he had
to ask: ‘O God, which way will lead me to }Our servant?’
God said: ‘Go to the country of Rum, and in a certain
Christian monastery you will find him.’ Gabriel flew off to
the monaster}" and there he saw the object of celestial favours
bowing before an idol. ‘O master of the world,’ said Gabriel,
‘ draw aside the veil from this mystery. How can you answer
the prayer of an idol- worshipper in a monastery?’ God said:
‘His heart is darkened. He is unaware that he has lost his

(54)

way. Since he strays through ignorance my loving-kindness
pardons him and I have opened the way for him to a high
estate.’ Then the Most High unloosed the man’s tongue so
that he could pronounce the name of God.

One must not neglect the smallest thing. Renunciation is
not bought in a shop ; neither can you reach the court of the
Most High by paying a small sum.

THE SUFI

As a Sufi was hurrying to Baghdad he heard someone say:
‘ I have a lot of honey which I would sell very reasonably if
there were anyone to buy it.’ The Sufi said: ‘My good
fellow, wouldn’t you like to give me a little for nothing?’
The man angrily replied : ‘Go away. Are you mad as well as
greedy? Don’t you know that one always gets nothing for
nothing?’ Then an inner voice said to the Sufi: ‘Leave this
place and I will give you that which money cannot buy : all
good fortune and all that you desire. God’s mercy is a burn-
ing sun which reaches to the smallest atom. God even
rebuked the prophet Moses because of an unbeliever.’

GOD REBUKES MOSES

One day God said to Moses: ‘Korah, sobbing, called you
seventy times and you did not reply. If he had called me thus,
once, I would have wrested his heart from the pit of poly-
theism and covered his breast with a vestment of faith. O
Moses, you have caused him to perish in a hundred agonies,
you have cast him into the earth with disgrace. If you had
been his creator you would have been less stern with him.’

He who is merciful even to those who are without mercy
is highly favoured by compassionate men. If you commit
the faults of ordinary sinners you yourself will become one
of the wicked.

20

THE QUERY OF THE FOURTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe : ‘ I am effeminate, and can
only hop from one branch to another. Sometimes I am
wanton and dissolute, at other times I am abstinent. Some-
times my desires drag me to the taverns, sometimes my
spirit draws me to prayer. Sometimes, in spite of myself,
Satan leads me astray ; at other times angels guide me back.
Between these two I am in the pit and the prison; what can
I do save lament, like Joseph?’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘This happens to every man,
according to his nature. If we had been guiltless from the
beginning God would not have had to send his messengers
and prophets. Through obedience you can attain felicity.
O you who loll in the sweating room of indolence and yet
are full of idle wishes, while you continue to feed the dog of
desire your nature is worse than that of an impotent
hermaphrodite.’

ANECDOTE OF SHABLI

Shabli once disappeared from Baghdad, no one knew where.
At last he was discovered in a house of eunuchs, sitting with
humid eye and dry lips among these grotesque creatures.
His friends said: ‘This is no place for you who are a student
of divine mysteries.’ He replied: ‘These persons, in the way
of religion, are neither men nor women. I am as they. I sink
in inertia, and my virility is a reproach. If you use praise and
blame to make distinctions you are creating idols. When you
conceal a hundred idols under your khirka, why appear
before men as a Sufi?’

QUARREL OF TWO SUFIS

Two men wearing the khirka of the Sufis were abusing each
other before the tribunal. The judge stood them apart and

(36)

said: ‘It is not becoming for Sufis to dispute among them-
selves. If you have put on the mantle of resignation why
quarrel? If you are men of violence then throw away your
mantles. But if you are worthy of them be reconciled to each
other. I who am a judge, and not a man of the spiritual way,
am ashamed for the khirka; it would be better to agree to
differ than, while wearing it, to quarrel.’

If you wish to follow the way of love throw your pre-
judices to the wind and renounce attachment to the things
of the body. Meanwhile, in order not to be a source of evil,
do not give way to resentment and self-love !

THE KING AND THE BEGGAR

Once upon a time in Egypt an unfortunate man fell in love
with the king, who when he heard about it sent for the mis-
guided man and said : ‘ Since you are in love with me you
must choose one of two things — either have your head cut
off or go into exile.’ The man said that he preferred exile,
and almost beside himself, got ready to go. But the king
ordered him to be beheaded. A chamberlain said: ‘He is
innocent; why must he die?’ ‘It is,’ said the king, ‘because
he is not a true lover and was not whole-hearted. Had he
really desired me, he would rather have lost his head than
leave the object of his love. It would have been all or
nothing. Had he consented to execution, I would have
girded up my loins and become his dervish. He who loves
me, but loves his head better, is no true lover.’

21

EXCUSES OF THE FIFTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘I am my own enemy;
there is a thief in me. How can I make this journey hindered
by bodily appetites and a dog of desire which wiU not
submit? How can I save my soul? The prowling wolf I

(57)

know but this dog I do not know, and he is so attractive. I
know not where I am with this unfaithful body. Will I ever
understand it?’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘You yourself are a stray dog,
trampled underfoot. This “soul” of yours is one-eyed and
squinting; vile, slothful and unfaithful. If a man is drawn to
you it is because he is dazzled by the tinsel glitter of your
“soul”. It is not good for this dog of desire to be pampered
and rubbed with oils. As a child, man is weak and heedless;
as a youth he is engaged in struggle; and when old age
takes possession desire languishes and the body is feeble.
Existence being such, how will this dog acquire the orna-
ment of spiritual qualities? From beginning to end we live
heedlessly, and obtain nothing. Often a man comes to the
end empty, with nothing in him except a desire for the
things of exterior life. Thousands perish from grief, but this
dog of desire never dies. Listen to the story of a grave-
digger who had grown old in his trade. Someone asked
him: “Will you answer a question for me since you have
spent your whole life digging graves. Tell me if you have
ever seen a marvel?” He said: “My dog of desire has seen
the dead buried for seventy years, but he himself has not
once died, nor for a single moment has he obeyed the laws
of God. This is a marvel!”’

AN ANECDOTE OF ABBASAH

One evening, Abbasah said: ‘Supposing that the un-
believers who fill the earth, and even the loquacious
Turkomans, should sincerely accept the Faith — such a thing
could be possible. But a hundred and twenty thousand
prophets have been sent to the unbelieving soul so that it
should accept the Musulman faith or perish, and they have
not yet succeeded. Why so much zeal and so little result?’

We are all under the domination of the Nafs of this
unfaithful disobedient body, which we maintain in ourselves.

E

(58)

Helped as it is from two sides, it were astonishing if this
body perished. The Spirit, like a faithful knight, rides on,
but always the dog is his companion; he may gallop but the
dog follows. The love the heart receives is taken by the body.
Yet he who makes himself master of this dog will take in his
net the lion of the tv^o worlds.

22

A KING QUESTIONS A DERVISH

A king once saw a man, who, though clad in rags was
working in the way of self-perfection. He called him and
asked: ‘Who is the better off, you or I?’ The man said: ‘O
ignorant one, beat your breast and hold your tongue. Who
praises himself does not understand the meaning of words;
but this I must say, there can be no doubt that a man such
as I is a thousand times better off than a man such as you.
With not even the taste of religion, your dog of desire has
reduced you to the status of an ass. He is your master and
rides you on a bridle pulling your head this way and that.
You do all that he commands. You are a non-entity, and fit
for nothing, whereas I who know the secrets of the heart
have made of this dog, my ass to ride upon. Your dog rules
you, but if you will make of it an ass you are then as I, and
a hundred times better off than your fellows.’

EXCUSE OF THE SIXTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘Whenever I wish to enter
the Way the devil rouses my vanity and prevents me from
seeking a guide. My heart is troubled, for I have not the
strength to resist him. How can I save myself from Iblis and
be vivified by the wine of the Spirit?’

The Hoopoe replied : ‘ So long as the dog of desire runs
before you the devil will not leave you, but will use the dog’s
allurements to mislead you. Then each of your vain desires

( 39)

becomes a demon, and each one yielded to begets a hundred
others. This world is a sweating room or prison, the domain
of the devil; have no truck with it or with its master.’

COMPLAINT OF A NOVICE ON THE TEMPTATION
OF A DEMON

A heedless youth went to one who was fasting to complain
of forty temptations of a demon. He said: ‘The demon keeps
me from the Way, and he has reduced my religion to
nothing.’ The shaikh said: ‘My dear young man, just before
you came to me I saw the demon prowling round you.
Contrary to what you say he was vexed and was throwing
dust on his head because you had ill-treated him and he said
to me: “ The whole world is my domain but I have no power
over him who is the enemy of the world.” Tell the demon to
pass on, and he will leave you alone.’

THE KHOJA AND THE SUFI

A Sufi heard a Khoja utter this prayer: ‘O God have mercy
on me and favour my enterprises’, and said to him: ‘Do not
hope for mercy if you have not taken the khirka of a Sufi.
You have lifted your face towards heaven and the four
golden walls. You are served by ten male and ten female
slaves. How shall divine grace come to you in secret?
Observe yourself and see if you merit favours. Since you
pray for possessions and honours, mercy will hide its face.
Turn away from all this, and be free, as are the perfected
men.’

23

EXCUSE OF THE SEVENTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘I love gold; for me if is
like the almond in its shell. If I do not have gold I am bound
hand and foot. Love of worldly things and love of gold have

(6o)

filled me with vain desires which blind me to spiritual
things.’

The Hoopoe replied: "O you who are dazzled by exterior
forms, in whose heart the value of real things never dawns !
You are Like a man who can see only in the dark, a nyctalope;
you are like an ant, attracted by appearances. Try to under-
stand the sense of things. Without its colour gold would be
an ordinary metal; yet you are seduced by colour, like a
child. Love of gold is not becoming to a real man; why,
they hide it in the vagina of a mule ! Does one hide precious
things in such a place? If you let no one benefit by your gold
you will not profit either. But if you give an obol to some
poor wretch, both of you will profit. If you have gold you
can benefit many; but if your shoulder is marked, that also
is because of gold. For a shop, you must pay rent and some-
times the price is your own soul. You sacrifice everything
for your business, even those to whom you are most
attached, and in the end you have nothing. We can only hope
that fortune will leave a ladder under the gallows. It does
not mean that you should make no use at all of the things of
the world, but you should spend on all sides that which you
possess. Good fortune will come to you only as you give.
If you cannot renounce life completely you can at least free
yourself from the love of riches and honours.’

THE PIR AND HIS COMPANION

A young pupil, unknown to his shaikh (as he thought) had
a small hoard of gold pieces. The shaikh said nothing, and
one day they set out together on a journey. At length they
came to a dark valley at the entrance of which were two
roads. The pupil began to be afraid, for gold corrupts its
possessor. Trembling, he asked the shaikh, ‘Which road
ought we to take?’ The shaikh replied: ‘Get rid of that
which makes you afraid, then either road will be good. The

(6i)

devil fears hirn who is indifferent to money, and promptly
flees from him. For the sake of a grain of gold you would
split a hair. In the way of religion gold is like a lame donkey;
it has no value, only weight. When wealth comes to a man
unawares it first bewilders him, then governs him. He who
is identified with the love of money and possessions has been
bound hand and foot and thrown into a pit. Avoid this deep
pit if you can, if not, hold your breath, for the air in it is
quite extraordinary.’

GOD REBUKES A DERVISH

A holy man who had found prosperity in God gave himself
up to worship and adoration for forty years. He had fled
from the world, but since God was intimately united to him
he was satisfied. This dervish had enclosed a plot of ground
in the desert; in the middle of it was a tree, and in the tree
a bird had made its nest. The song of the bird was sweet to
hear for in each of its notes were a hundred secrets. The
servant of God was enchanted. But God told a seer about
this state of things in these words: ‘Tell this Sufi I am
astonished that after so many years of devotion he has ended
by selling me for a bird. It is true that this bird is admirable,
but its song has caught him in a snare. I have bought him,
and he has sold me.’

24

EXCUSES OF THE EIGHTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe : ‘ My heart is aglow with
pleasure for I live in a charming spot. I have a golden palace,
so beautiful that everyone admires it, and there I exist in a
world of contentment. How can I be expected to give it
up? In this palace I am as a king among birds, why then
should I expose myself to hardships in the valleys of which
you speak? Must I give up both my palace and my royalty?

(62)

No reasonable creature would forsake the garden of Irem
to undertake so toilsome and difficult a journey!’

The Hoopoe replied: you who are without aspiration

and energy! Are you a dog? or do you wish to be an atten-
dant in the hammam? This lower world is only a hot-room
and your palace is part of it. Even if your palace is a para-
dise, nevertheless, death will one day turn it into a prison
of suffering. Only if death ceases to exercise his power over
creatures would it be expedient for you to remain content
in your golden palace.’

A sage’s jest concerning a palace
A king built a palace which cost him a hundred thousand
dinars. Outside it was adorned with gilded towers and
cupolas, and the furniture and carpets made the interior a
paradise. When it was finished he invited men from every
country to visit him. They came and presented gifts, and he
made them all sit down with him. Then he asked them:
‘Tell me what you think of my palace. Has anything been
forgotten which mars its beauty?’ They all protested that
never had there been such a palace on earth and never would
its like be seen again. All, that is, except one, a Sage, who
stood up and said: ‘ Sire, there is one small crevice w^hich to
me seems a blemish. Were it not for this blemish, paradise
itself would bring gifts to you from the invisible world.’

‘I don’t see this blemish,’ said the king angrily. ‘You are
an ignorant person and you only wish to make yourself
important.’ ‘No, proud King,’ replied the Sage. ‘This chink
of which I speak is that through which Azrael, the angel of
death, will come. Would to God you could stop it up, for
otherwise, what use is your gorgeous palace, your crown
and your throne? When death comes the)’' will be as a hand-
ful of dust. Nothing lasts, and it is this which spoils the
beauty of your dwelling. No art can make stable that which
is unstable. Ah, do not put your hopes of happiness upon

(63)

a palace! Do not let the courser of your pride caracole. If no
one dares speak plainly to the king and remind him of his
faults, that is a great misfortune.’

THE SPIDER

Have you ever watched the spider and noted how fantasti-
cally she spends her time? With speed and foresight she
spins her marv^ellous web, a house which she garnishes for
her use. When the fly falls headlong into the web, she rushes
up, sucks the little creature’s blood and leaves the body to
dry for use as food. Then, along comes the householder
with a broom, and in an instant web, fly and spider are gone
— all three !

The web represents the world; the fly, the subsistence
which God has placed there for man. Even if all the world
should fall to you, you may lose it in an instant. You are-
but an infant on the path of understanding; yet you stand
trifling outside the curtain. Do not strive after place and
position if you have not eaten the brain of an ass. And
know, heedless fool, that this world is given over to the
bulls. He for whom drums and flags denote high dignity
will never become a dervdsh; these things are but the
whistling of the wind, of less value than the smallest coin.
Curb the caracoling of the courser of your folly, and do not
be deluded by the possession of power. As the panther is
flayed, so your life will be snatched away.

Open the eye of true aspiration and discover the spiritual
Path; put your feet in the Way of God and seek his celestial
court. Once you have glimpsed that you will no longer be
attached to the glitter of this world.

THE MISANTHROPIC DERVISH

A man, tired and dispirited, weary with walking in the
desert came at last to a place where lived a solitary dervish,
and said to him: ‘O Dervish, how are things with you?’

(64)

The dervish replied; ‘Aren’t you ashamed to ask such a
question when here I stay in a place so confined and shut
in?’ The man said: ‘That isn’t true. How can you be shut in,
living in this vast desert?’ The dervish added: ‘If the world
were not so small, you never would have lighted on me!’

25

EXCUSE OF THE NINTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘O most eminent bird, I
am the slave of a charming being who has taken possession
of me and deprived me of my reason. The image of her dear
face is a thief of the great Path; she has put fire to the harvest
of my life, and when I am absent from her I have not a
moment’s peace. Since my heart is on fire with passion I do
not see how I can set out on this journey. I should have to
cross the valleys and go through a hundred trials. Can I be
expected to forsake this beauty to travel through scorching
heat and bitter cold? I am too weak to go without her; and
I am but the dust on her road. Such is my state. What can
Ido?’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘You are attached to visible things,
and are head and foot in the suffering which follows from
this. Sensual love is a game. Love which is inspired by
passing beauty is itself fleeting. You are always comparing
a body of blood and moods to the beauty of the moon.
What is uglier than a body composed of flesh and bones?
True beauty is hidden. Seek it then, in the invisible world.
If the veil which hides the mysteries from our eyes should
fall, nothing would be left in the world. AU visible forms
would be reduced to nothing.’

AN ANECDOTE OF SHABLI

A man came to Shabli one day, weeping. The Sufi asked him
why he wept. ‘O Shaikh,’ he said, ‘I had a friend whose

(65)

beauty made my soul as verdant as branches in spring.
Yesterday, he died, and I too shall die of sorrow.’ Shabli
said : ‘ Why do you grieve? For a long time you have had his
friendship. Go now and choose another friend, one who
will not die, then you will not lay up for yourself a cause for
grief. Attachment to a mortal can only bring sorrow.’

THE RICH MERCHANT

A merchant rich in goods and money had a slave who was
sweet as sugar. Nevertheless, he decided one day to sell her.
But it was not long before he began to miss her. In his long-
ing he went to the new master and begged him to let her go,
and offered a thousand pieces of gold to buy her back. But
he refused to part with her. So the merchant went out, and
throwing dust on his head said: ‘It is my own fault, for
having sewn up my lips and my eye; in my greed I have sold
my mistress for a piece of gold. It was a bad day for me
when I dressed her up in her best attire and took her to the
bazaar to sell for a good profit.’

Each of your breaths, which measure your existence, is
a pearl, and each of your atoms is a guide to God. The
benefits of this friend cover you from head to foot. If you
were truly aware of him how could you support the
separation?

ANECDOTE OF HALLAJ

When they were about to impale Hallaj, he only uttered
these words: ‘I am God.’ They cut off his hands and feet so
that he became pale from loss of blood. Then he drew the
stumps of his wrists across his face saying : ‘ It will not do for
me to look pale today or they will think I am afraid. I will
redden my face so that when the bloody man who has carried
out the sentence turns towards the gibbet, he will see that
I am a brave man.’

(66)

He who eats and sleeps in the month of July with the
dragon of seven heads will fare very badly in such a game,
but the gibbet will be a very small thing for him.

26

EXCUSE OF THE TENTH BIRD

This bird said to the Hoopoe: H am afraid of death. Now
this valley is wide, and I have nothing at all for the journey.

I am so filled with the fear of death that my life will leave
me at the first stopping place. Even were I a powerful emir,
in the hour of death I should fear no less. He who with a
sword would iry to ward off death, shall have it broken like
a Kalam; for alas, faith in the strength of the hand and of
the sword brings only disappointment and sorrow.’

The Hoopoe replied; ‘O you who are fickle and weak-
willed, do you wish to remain a mere frame of bone and
marrow? Don’t you know that life, be it long or short, is
composed of a few breaths? Don’t you understand that
whoever is born must also die? That he goes into the earth
and that the wind disperses the elements of which his body
was made?

‘ You were nourished for death ; and you were brought into
the world in order to be taken away from it ! The sky is like
a dish upside down, which ever}' evening is immersed in the
blood of sunset. One could say that the sun, armed with a
scimitar, is cutting off heads on this dish. Whether you
be good or bad you are only a drop of water kneaded with
earth. Though all your life you may have been in a position
of authority, you will, in the end, give up the ghost in
affliction.’

THE PHOENIX

The Phoenix is an admirable and lovely bird which lives in
Hindustan. It has no mate and lives alone. Its beak, which

(6?)

is very long and hard, is pierced like a flute with nearly
a hundred holes. Each of these holes gives out a sound
and in each sound is a particular secret. Sometimes he
makes music through the holes, and when the birds and
the fishes hear his sweet plaintive notes they are agitated,
and the most ferocious beasts are in rapture; then they
all become silent. A philosopher once visited this bird
and learnt from him the science of music. The Phoenix
lives about a thousand years and he knows exactly the
day of his death. When his time comes he gathers round
him a quantity of palm leaves and, distraught among the
leaves, utters plaintive cries. From the openings in his
beak he sends forth varied notes, and this music is drawn
from the depths of his heart. His lamentations express the
sorrow of death, and he trembles like a leaf. At the sound
of his trumpet the birds and the beasts draw near to assist
at the spectacle. Now they fall into bewilderment, and
many die because their strength fails them. While the
Phoenix still has breath, he beats his wings and ruffles his
feathers, and by this produces fire. The fire spreads to the
palm fronds, and soon both the fronds and the bird are
reduced to living coals and then to ashes. But when the last
spark has flickered out a new small Phoenix arises from
the ashes.

Has it ever happened to anyone to be re-born after death?
Even if you lived as long as the Phoenix, nevertheless you
would die when the measure of your life was taken. His
thousand years of life are filled with lamentations and he
remains alone without companions or children, and has
contact with no one. When the end comes he throws his
ashes to the wind so that you may know that none can escape
death whatever trick he may use. Learn then from the
miracle of the Phoenix. Death is a tyrant, but we must always
keep death in mind. And, although we have much to endure,
it is nothing compared with dying.

(68)

COUNSEL OF TAI WHEN DYING

When Tai lay dying someone asked him: ‘O Tai, you have
seen the essence of things, how is it with you now?’ He
said : ‘ I can say nothing about my state. I have measured the
wind all the days of my life, and now the end is come I shall
be buried, and so, good night.’

There is no other remedy for death than to look death
constantly in the face. We all are born to die; life will not
stay with us; we must submit. Even he who held the world
under the seal of his ring is now only a mineral in the earth.

JESUS AND THE PITCHER OF WATER

Jesus drank of the water of a limpid rill whose taste was
more agreeable than the dew of the rose. One of his com-
panions filled a pitcher from this rill, and they went on their
way. Jesus, being thirsty, took a sip of water from the
pitcher, but the water was bitter, and he stopped in astonish-
ment and prayed: ‘O God, the water of the rill and the
water in the pitcher are the same. Tell me why the one
is sweeter than honey and the other so bitter?’ The
pitcher* then spoke, and said to Jesus: ‘I am very old, and
I have been fashioned over a thousand times under the
firmament of the nine cupolas — sometimes as a vase, some-
times as a pitcher, sometimes as a ewer. Whatever form I
took I have always had in me the bitterness of death. I am
so made that the water I hold will always partake of that
bitterness.’

O heedless man! Try to understand the meaning of the
pitcher. Strive to discover the mystery before life is taken
from you. If while living you fail to find yourself, to know
yourself, how will you be able to understand the secret of
your existence when you die? You participate in the life of
man yet you are only a psuedo man.

(69)

SOCRATES TO HIS DISCIPLES

When Socrates was about to die, one of his pupils said to
him: ‘My master, when we have washed you and put on
your shroud where do you want us to bury you?’ Socrates
said: ‘If you find me, dear pupil, bury me where you will,
and good night ! Seeing that in my long life I have not found
myself, how will you find me when I am dead? I have lived
in such a manner that at this moment I only know that the
least hair of knowledge of myself is not evident.’

27

EXCUSE OF THE ELEVENTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘O you whose faith is
sincere, I have not a breath of good will. I have spent my
life in vexation, desiring the ball of the world. There is such
a sadness in my heart that I never cease to mourn. I am always
in a state of bewilderment and impotence; and when for a
moment I have been content, then am I unbelieving. In
consequence, I have become a dervish. But now I hesitate
to start out on the road of spiritual knowledge. If my heart
were not so full of sorrow I would be charmed with this
journey. As it is I am in a state of perplexity. Now that I
have put my case before you tell me what I ought to do.’

The Hoopoe said: ‘You, who are given over to pride,
who are swallowed up in self-pity, you do well to be dis-
turbed. Seeing that the world passes, you yourself should
pass it by. Abandon it, for whoever becomes identified with
transient things can have no part in the things that are last-
ing. The sufferings you endure can be made glorious and
not humiliating. That which in outward appearance is suffer-
ing can be a treasure for the seer. A hundred blessings will
come to you if you make effort on the Path. But as you are,
you are only a skin covering a dull brain.’

THE GRATEFUL SLAVE

One day a good-natured king gave a rare and beautiful
fruit to a slave, who tasted it and thereupon said that never
in his life had he eaten anything so delicious. This made the
king wish to try it himself, and he asked the slave for a piece.
But when he put it into his mouth he found it very bitter and
he raised his eyebrows in astonishment. The slave said : ^ Sire,
since I have received so many gifts at your hand how can I
complain of one bitter fruit? Seeing that you shower benefits
on me why should one bitterness estrange me from you?’

So, servant of God, if you experience suffering in your
striving, be persuaded that it can be a treasure for you. The
thing seems topsy-turvy but, remember the slave.

THE SHAIKH AND THE OLD WOMAN

An old woman said to Shaikh Mahmah: ‘Teach me a prayer
so that I may find contentment. So far I have always been
a prey to discontent, but I now wish to be free.’

The shaikh replied: ‘A long time ago I withdrew into a
sort of fortress behind my knee to seek ardently that which
you desire ; but I have neither felt it nor seen it. So long as we
do not accept everything in the way of love, how can we be
content?’

A QUESTION TO JUNAID

Someone asked Junaid: ‘Slave of God who yet are free, tell
me how to reach a state of contentment?’ Junaid replied:
‘When one has learned, through love, to accept.’

The atom has only an apparent brilliance. By nature it is
only an atom, but if it loses itself in the sun, it will thereby
share his quality for ever.

THE BAT IN SEARCH OF THE SUN

One night a bat was heard to say : ‘ How is it that I am unable
even for a moment to see the sun? All my life I have been

(71)

in despair because not for an instant can I be lost in him.
For months and years I have flown hither and thither with
my eyes shut, and here I am!’ A contemplative said: 'You
are beset with pride, and you still have thousands of years
to travel. How can such a being as you discover the sun?
Can an ant reach the moon?’ ‘Nevertheless,’ said the bat,
‘ I shall still go on trying.’ And so for some years it continued
to search until it had neither strength nor wings. As it still
had not discovered the sun it said: ‘Perhaps I have flown
beyond it.’ A wise bird hearing this, said: ‘You live in a
dream; you have been going round in circles, and haven’t
advanced a single step ; and in your pride you say you have
gone beyond the sun I ’ This so shocked the bat that realizing
her helplessness she humbled herself completely, saying:
‘You have found a bird with inner sight, go no further.’

28

QUESTION OF THE TWELFTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘O you, who are our
guide, what will be the result if I surrender my will to you ?
I cannot of my own will accept the toil and suffering that
I know I shall have to undergo, but I can agree to obey
your commands; and if I should chance to turn my head
away I will make amends.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘You have spoken well, one cannot
expect better than this. For how can you remain master of
yourself if you follow your Ukes and dislikes? But if you
obey voluntarily you may become your own master. He
who submits to obedience on this path is delivered from
deception and escapes many diflSculties. One hour of serving
God in accordance with the true law is worth a lifetime of
serving the world. He who accepts passive suffering is like

(72)

a stray dog which has to obey the whim of every passer-by.
But he who endures even a moment of active suffering on
this path is fully recompensed/

BAYA^ID AND TARMAZi

A learned doctor, a pivot of the world and blessed with
excellent qualities, recounted the following: ‘One night,’ he
said, ‘I saw in a dream Bayazid and Tarmazi, who begged
me to be their leader. I wondered very much why these two
eminent shaikhs treated me with such deference. Then I
remembered that one morning I had heaved a sigh from the
depths of rfiy heart, and as the sigh went up it swung the
hammer of the gate of the sanctuary, so that it was opened
for me. I went in, and all the spiritual masters and their
disciples, speaking without words, asked something of me —
all except Bayazid Bistami who wished to meet me but not
to ask anything. He said: “When I heard the summons of
your heart I realized that all I need is to obey your orders, to
be guided by your will. Since I am nothing, who am I to say
what I wish? It is enough for the servant to comply with the
wishes of his master.”

‘ This is why the shaikhs have treated me with respect, and
given me precedence. When a man walks in obedience he
acts conformably with the word of God. He is no ser\^ant
of God who boasts of being one. The true servant shows
his quality in the time of ordeal. Submit then, to trials, so
that you may know yourself.’

THE SLAVE AND THE ROBE OF HONOUR

A king gave a robe of honour to a slave, who went away
very pleased with himself. As he walked along, the dust of
the street settled on him, and he thoughtlessly wiped his
face with the sleeve of the robe. One who was jealous of him

(75)

lost no time in informing the king, who, indignant at this
breach of good manners, had him impaled.

He who dishonours himself by unseemly conduct is not
worthy to wait on the carpet of a king.

29

REQUEST OF THE THIRTEENTH BIRD

Another bird asked the Hoopoe : ‘O you whose motives are
without guile, tell me how I can be sincere on this path to
God. Since I cannot give up the longing of my heart I spend
all that I have to achieve my aim. What I had I lost; what I
kept has turned to scorpions in my hands. I am bound by no
ties and have cast off all shackles and impediments. I wish
to be sincere in the spiritual Way in the hope of one day
seeing the object of my worship face to face.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘The Way is not open to everyone;
only the upright may tread it. He who strives in this Way
must do so tranquilly and with a whole heart. When you
have burnt all that you possess gather the ashes together and
seat yourself upon them. Until you die to all the things of
this world, one by one, you will not be free. And seeing that
you will not be long in the prison of the world detach your-
self from everything. When death comes, can the things that
now enslave you turn him aside? To travel this road, self-
sincerity is necessary — and to be sincere with oneself is more
difficult than you think.’

ALLEGORICAL SAYING OF TARMAZ!

The saint of Turkestan said one day to himself: H love two
things, my son and my piebald horse. If I should hear that
my son had died I would surrender my horse as a thanks-
giving, for these two things are as idols to my soul.’

K

(74)

Set light to your faults, your resentments, and your
vanities. Burn them and do not flatter yourself that you are
more sincere than others. He who prides himself on his
sincerity should strive to see himself as he is.

THE SHAIKH KHIRCANI AND THE AUBERGINE

One day Shaikh Khircani, who rested upon the very throne
of God, had an intense longing for an aubergine. He called
for it with horn and voice, so his mother went out and got
one. No sooner had he eaten it than it happened that they
cut off the head of his child, and at night a wicked man
placed it on his doorstep. The shaikh then said: "A hundred
times I had a foreboding that if I ate so much as a small piece
of aubergine something disastrous would happen. But the
desire for it was so strong that I could not overcome it.’

He who allows his desires to master him stifles his own
soul. The learned know nothing; there is no surety in their
learning; and many sorts of knowledge are required. At any
moment a new caravan may arrive and a new test.

I know of no one so fortunate as Pharaoh’s magicians,
who, with the faith of men today, separated their souls from
themselves ; and, grounded in religion, relinquished all love
for things of the world.

30

THE FOURTEENTH BIRD SPEAKS

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: 'O you who are clear-
seeing ! This that you propose is a worthy aspiration. Though
I appear to be weak, in reality I have a noble ardour; though
I have little strength, I have a lofty ambition.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘If you have but a little of this noble
ambition, it will triumph even over the sun. Aspiration is
the wings and feathers of the bird of the soul.’

(75)

THE OLD WOMAN WHO WISHED TO BUY JOSEPH

It is said that when they sold Joseph to the Egyptians the
latter treated him kindly. There were many buyers so the
merchants priced him at from five to ten times his weight in
musk. Meanwhile, in a state of agitation, an old woman ran
up, and going among the buyers said to an Egyptian: "Let
me buy the Canaanite, for I long to possess that young man.
I have spun ten spools of thread to pay for him so take them
and give me Joseph and say no more about it.’

The merchants smiled and said: "Your simplicity has mis-
led you. This unique pearl is not for you; they have already
offered a hundred treasures for him. How can you bid
against them with your spools of thread?’ The old woman,
looking into their faces, said: "I know very well that you
will not sell him for so little, but it is enough for me that my
friends and enemies will say, ""this old woman has been
among those who wished to buy Joseph”.’

He who is without aspiration will never reach the bound-
less kingdom. Possessed of this lofty ambition a great prince
regarded his worldly kingdom as ashes. When he realized
the emptiness of temporal royalty, he decided that spiritual
royalty was worth a thousand kingdoms of the world.

IBRAHIM ADHAM

A man was always complaining of the bitterness of poverty,
so Ibrahim Adham said to him: "My son, perhaps you have
not paid for your poverty?’ The man replied: "What you
say is nonsense, how can one buy poverty?’ "I at least,’ said
Adham, "have chosen it voluntarily and I have bought it at
the price of the kingdom of the world. And I would still
buy a moment of this poverty for a hundred of those
worlds.’

Men who have a thirst for self-perfection stake both soul
and body on the issue. The bird of aspiration soars to God,

(76)

lifted on the wings of faith above things temporal and spiri-
tual. If you have not this aspiration it is better to withdraw.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO A SUFI

A Sufi woke one night and said to himself: ‘It seems to me
that the world is like a chest in which we are put and the lid
shut down, and we give ourselves up to foolishness. When
death lifts the lid, he who has acquired wings, soars away
to eternity, but he who has not, stays in the chest a prey to
a thousand tribulations. Make sure then that the bird of
ambition acquires wings of aspiration, and give to your
heart and reason the ecstasy of the soul. Before the lid of the
chest is opened become a bird of the Spirit, ready to spread
your wings.’

31

THE QUERY OF THE FIFTEENTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘If the King of whom we
speak is just and faithful, God has given us, also, uprightness
and integrity; and I have never been lacking in justice
towards anyone. When these qualities are found in a man
how will he rank in the knowledge of spiritual things?’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘Justice is the king of salvation. He
who is just is saved from all kinds of errors and futilities. It
is better to be just than to pass your whole life in the genu-
flexions and prostrations of exterior worship. Even liberality
is not equal in the two worlds to justice exercised in secret;
but he who professes justice openly will find it difficult not
to become a hypocrite. As for men of the spiritual Way they
ask justice of no one but they receive it generously from
God.’

ANECDOTE OF THE IMAM HAMBAL

Ahmad Hambal was the Imam of his time, and his merit
beyond praise. Once when he wished to rest from his studies

(77)

and his position he went out to talk with a man who was
very poor. Someone who saw him blamed him saying:
‘There is no one more learned than you, and you have no
need of another man’s opinions, yet you spend your time
with a poor wretch who goes barefoot and bareheaded.’ ‘It
is true,’ said the Imam, ‘ that I have carried off the polo ball
in the hadis and the sunna, and that I have more knowledge
than this man; but in regard to understanding he is nearer
to God than I am.’

You who are unjust through ignorance, reflect, at least
for a moment, on the integrity of those who are on the path
of the spirit.

THE INDIAN RAJAH

Sultan Mahmud once took prisoner an old rajah, who,
experiencing the love of God, became a Musulman and
renounced the two worlds. Sitting alone in his tent he
became- quite absorbed by this, weeping bitter tears and
heaving sighs of longing — in the day more than in the
night, and in the night more than in the day. At last Mahmud
heard of this and summoned him: ‘ Do not weep and lament,’
he said, ‘you are a Rajah and I will give you a hundred
kingdoms for the one you have lost.’ ‘O Padishah,’ replied
the Hindu, ‘I do not weep for my lost kingdom or my
dignity. I weep, because on the day of resurrection, God,
the possessor of glory, will say to me: “O disloyal man, you
have sown against me the grain of insult. Before Mahmud
attacked you, you never thought of me. Only when you had
to bring your army against him and lost everything did you
remember me. Do you think this is just?” O, young king,
it is because I am ashamed that I weep in my old age.’

Listen to the words of justice and faith; listen to the
teaching in the Diwan of the Sacred Books. If you have
faith, then undertake the journey to which I invite you.

(78)

But shall he who is not in the index of fidelity be found in
the chapter of generosity!

THE MUSLIM WARRIOR
AND

THE CHRISTIAN CRUSADER

A Muslim and a Christian were fighting, and the moment
arrived for the Muslim to say his appointed prayers, so he
proudly demanded a respite from the Christian. The
crusader agreed, so the Muslim went aside and said his
prayers. When he returned they resumed the combat with
renewed vigour. A little later the crusader in his turn asked
for a truce to say his prayers. This being granted he with-
drew himself, and choosing a suitable spot, bowed in the
dust before his idol. When the Musulman saw his adversary
with his head bowed he said to himself: ‘Now is my chance
to gain the victory,’ thinking to strike him down by
treachery. But an inner voice said: ‘O faithless man to betray
your pledge, is this how you keep your word? The un-
believer did not draw his sword against you when you
asked for a truce. Do you not remember the words of the
Koran: “Keep your promises faithfully.” Since an un-
believer has been generous to you, be not wanting in regard
to him. He has done well, you wish to do ill. Do to him
as he has done to you. Are you, a Musulman, not to be
worthy of trust?’ At this, the Musulmto halted. Remorse
overcame him and he was bathed in tears from head to foot.
When the crusader noticed this he asked the reason. ‘A
heavenly voice,’ said the Musulman, ‘ reproached me for not
keeping faith with you. You see me in this state because I
have been vanquished by your generosity.’ At this the
Christian gave a great cry, and said: ‘Since God can show
favour to me, his guilty enemy, and rebuke his friend for
being faithless, how can I abide in infidelity? Expound to

(79)

me the principles of Islam so that I may accept the true faith
and casting polytheism behind me adopt the rites of the law.
Oh, how I regret the blindness that has hindered me until
now from acknowledging such a Master.’

O you who have neglected to seek the true object of your
desires, and are grossly lacking in the faith which is his due !
I think the time will come when in your presence heaven
will recall all your acts one by one.

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN

In the time of the famine, the ten brothers of Joseph made
the long journey to Egypt. Joseph received them, his face
covered v/ith a veil, and they recounted their hardships and
asked for help against the terrors of famine.

In front of Joseph was a cup, which he struck with his
hand, and it gave out a mournful sound. The brothers were
in a state of consternation: they loosened their tongues and
said to him: ‘O Aziz! Do you, or does anyone, know what
this sound signifies?’ ‘I know very well,’ said Joseph, ^but
you will not be able to bear the telling of it; for the cup says
that you had a brother, who was remarkable for his beauty,
and whose name was Joseph.’

Then Joseph struck the cup a second time and said: ^The
cup tells me that you threw him into a well and that you
killed an innocent wolf and stained Joseph’s coat with the
blood.’

Joseph struck the cup a third time, and again it gave out
a mournful sound. He added: ‘The cup says that Joseph’s
brothers plunged their father into the depths of grief and
that they have sold Joseph.

‘Now what have these unbelievers done with their
brother? Fear God, at least, you who stand before me.’

This put them into such a state that they sweated with
fear, they, who had come to ask for bread. In selling Joseph

(80)

they had sold themselves; when they put him in the well
they themselves were cast into a pit of affliction.

He who reads this story without profit is blind. Do not
listen with indifference, for this is none other than your
own story. You continue to commit sins and faults because
you have not been lighted with the light of understanding.
If someone strikes the cup of your life, then unveil to your-
self your guilty deeds. When the cup of your life is struck
and you wake from sleep; when your injustices and sins are
exposed one by one, I doubt if you will keep your peace or
your reason. You are like a lame ant in a bowl. How often
have you turned your head from the cup of heaven? Spread
your wings and fly upward, you, who have a knowledge of
the truth. If not, you will always be ashamed when you hear
the sound of the cup.

32

QUESTION OF THE SIXTEENTH BIRD

Another bird asked the Hoopoe: ‘O you who are our
leader, is boldness permitted in approaching the Majesty of
the Simurgh? It seems to me that he who has courage is
freed from many fears. Since you are such, scatter pearls of
wisdom and tell us the secret.’

‘Everyone who is worthy,’ replied the Hoopoe, ‘is the
Mahram of the secret of divinity, and it is good to be bold
if one has intelligence of the secrets of God. But how can
one who possesses the secrets impart them to another? Can
a camel-driver of the desert be the confidant of a king? Still,
if one is actuated by pure love a little boldness is permitted.
He who is on the path of self-knowledge should know when
to be bold, and not let himself die from lack of effort.

‘A true dervish will be bold and confident from the true
hope he experiences. He who is fearless from love sees the

(8i)

Lord in all. His boldness then is good and laudable, because
he is an idiot of love, on fire.’

AN IDIOT OF GOD AND THE SLAVES OF AMID

Khorassan was in a state of prosperity because of the wise
rule of Prince Amid. He was attended by a hundred Turkish
slaves whose countenances shone like the full moon, their
bodies were slender cypresses, their legs as silver, and their
breath was musk. They wore ear-rings of pearl whose reflec-
tion lighted up the night and made it seem as day; their
turbans were of the finest brocade, and round their necks
were collars of gold; their breasts were covered with silver
cloth, and their belts enriched with precious stones. All were
mounted on white horses. Whoever looked at one of them
lost his heart at once. By chance, a Sufi, clothed in rags and
baiefoot, saw this body of young men in the distance, and
asked: ‘What is this cavalcade of houris?’ He was told,
‘These young men are the pages of Amid, the prince of this
city.’ WTen the idiot of God heard this, the vapour of folly
went to his head and he cried: ‘O God, the possessor of the
glorious canopy, teach Amid to take care of his servants.’

If you are like this idiot, have also his boldness; lift your-
self up like a slender tree; but if you have no leaves do not
be daring and do not jest. The daring of the fools of God is
a good thing. They cannot tell if the way is good or bad,
they only know how to act.

A HOLY FOOL

The Hoopoe continued: ‘An idiot of God went naked and
starving along the road in winter. With neither house nor
shelter he was soaked with rain and sleet. At last he came to
a ruined palace and decided to take refuge there, but as he
went in at the doorway a tile fell on his head and cracked his

(82)

skull, so that the blood flowed. He turned his face to heaven
and said : “ Wouldn’t it be better to beat the royal drum than
to drop a tile on my head?”’

PRAYER OF A MADMAN

There was a famine in Egypt, so dreadful that everywhere
people were dying as they begged for bread. By chance a
madman passed along and seeing how many were perishing
of starvation he said to God: ‘O you who possess the good
things of the world and of religion, since you cannot feed
all men, create fewer.’

If one who would be bold in the court should say some-
thing unbecoming, he must humbly ask for forgiveness.

ANOTHER FOOL

A Sufi, an idiot of God, was tormented by children who
threw stones at him. At last he took refuge in a corner of a
building. But at that moment it began to hail and the hail-
stones came through an open skylight and fell on his head.
The man took the hail for pebbles and began to stretch out
his tongue and insult the children, whom he imagined were
throwing them, for the house was dark. At length he dis-
covered that the pebbles were only hailstones, and he was
sorry and prayed: ‘O God, it was because the house was dark
that I have sinned with my tongue.’

If you understand the motives of those who are in dark-
ness, you will, no doubt, forgive them.

33

THE SEVENTEENTH BIRD QUESTIONS THE HOOPOE

Another bird said to the Hoopoe : ‘As long as I live the love
of the Eternal Being will be dear and agreeable to me, and
I shall never cease to think of him. I have been about with

(83)

all living creatures and far from being attached to them I
am identified with none. The folly of love occupies all my
thoughts, so for me, love is enough. But such love is not
expedient for everyone, and now the time has come when I
must draw a line on my life so that I shall be able to take a
cup of wine from my beloved; then the eye of my heart will
be rendered luminous by his beauty, and my hand will touch
his neck as a pledge of the union.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘It is not by these pretentious boast-
ings that one can become an honoured guest of the Simurgh
of the Caucasus. Do not extol so much the love that you
believe you feel for him, for it is not given to everyone to
possess it. It is necessary that the wind of good fortune
should lift the veil of the mystery, then the Simurgh will
draw you to him and you shall sit with him in his harem. If
you wish to come to the sacred place you must first of all
strive to have a knowledge of spiritual things, otherwise
your love for the Simurgh will be turned to torment. For
your true felicity it is necessary that the Simurgh shall also
love you.’

DREAM OF A DISCIPLE OF BAYAZID

When Bayazid departed from the palace of this world a
disciple saw him the same night in a dream and asked this
excellent pir how he had escaped Munkir and Nakir. The
Sufi said to him: ‘ When these two angels questioned me about
the Creator, I said to them, “The question cannot be
answered precisely, for if I say ‘he is my God, and that is
all’, this will only express a desire on my part; it will be
better if you return to God and ask him what he thinks of
me. If he calls me his servant, you will know that it is so. If
not, then he abandons me to the bonds which hold me.
Since it is not easy to obtain union with God, what will it
serve me to call him My Lord? If he does not agree to my

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service how can I claim him for my master? It is true that
I have bowed my head, but it is also necessary that he calls
me his slave.”’

MAHMUD IN THE HOT-ROOM OF THE HAMMAM

One night, Mahmud, being in a state of dejection, went in
disguise to the hammam. A young attendant welcomed him
and made the necessary arrangements for him to sweat
comfortably over the hot coals. Afterwards he gave the
Sultan some dry bread, which he ate. Then The Sultan said
to himself: ‘If this attendant had excused himself from
receiving me I would have had his head cut off.’ At last the
Sultan told the young man that he wished to return to his
palace. The young man said: ‘You have eaten my food,
you have known my bed, and you have been my guest. I
shall always be glad to receive you. Though in reality we
are made of the same substance, how, in regard to outer
things, can you be compared to one in my lowly position?’
The Sultan was so pleased with this answer that he went
seven times more as the guest of the attendant. On the last
occasion he told him to make a request. ‘If I, a beggar,
should make a request,’ the attendant said, ‘the Sultan will
not grant it.’ ‘Ask what you will,’ said the Sultan, ‘even if it
be to leave the hammam and become a king.’ ‘My only
request,’ said he, ‘is that the Sultan shall continue to be my
guest. To be a bath attendant sitting near you in a hot room
is better than to be a king in a garden without you. Since
good fortune has come to me because of the hot-room, it
would be ungrateful of me to leave it. Your presence has
lighted up this place ; what can I ask for better than yourself? ’
If you love God seek also to be loved by him. But while
one man seeks this love, ever old and ever new, another
desires two obols of silver from the treasure of the world;
he seeks a drop of water when he might have the ocean.

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THE TWO WATER-CARRIERS

A water-carrier, meeting another, asked him for some of
his water. The latter said: ‘O you who are ignorant of
spiritual things, why don’t you drink your own?’ The first
said : ' Give me some of your water, you who have spiritual
knowledge, for I am sick of my own.’

Adam was satiated with familiar things, and that is why
he brought himself to take the wheat, a new thing for him.
He sold the old things for a little wheat. He became one-
eyed. Love came and knocked at the door for him. When he
was completely destroyed in the lightning of love, both old
and new things disappeared and nothing was left! But it is
'not given to everyone to be disgusted with himself and to
die completely to his old life.

34

SPEECH OF THE EIGHTEENTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘I believe that I have
acquired for myself all the perfection that is possible, and
I have acquired it by painful austerities. Since I have obtained
here the result that I wish, it is difficult for me to set out for
this place you speak of. Have you ever known anyone leave
a treasure to go painfully wandering over the mountains, in
the wilderness, and across the plains?’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘O diabolical creature, full of con-
ceit and self-pride! You who are sunk in egoism! You who
have such an aversion to doing! You have been seduced by
your imagination and you are now far from divine things.
The body of desire has the upper hand of your spirit; the
devil has stolen your brain. Pride has taken possession of
you. The light you think you have in the Spiritual Way is
only a flickering flame. Your taste for heavenly things is

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imaginary. Do not let yourself be seduced by the glimmer
which you see. So long as your body of desire confronts you,
be aware of yourself. You must fight this enemy, sword in
hand. When a false light shows itself from your body of
desire you must look on it as the sting of a scorpion, for
which you must use parsley. Do not despair because of the
obscurity of the way which I shall show you, and because
the light that you will see there will give you no pretension
to be a companion of the sun. So long as you continue
to live, O my dear, in the pride of life, your readings of
books and your puny efforts are not worth an obol. Only
when you give up this pride and vanity will you be able
to leave this exterior life without regret. So long as you
hold on to conceit and self-pride and the things of outer
life, a hundred arrows of vexation will pierce you from
every side.’

SHAIKH ABU BEKR OF NISHAPUR

The shaikh went out one day from his monastery in the
company of his disciples, riding on his donkey while his
companions followed walking. All at once the donkey broke
wind with a loud noise, whereupon the shaikh gave a cry
and tore his khirka. His disciples looked at him in surprise,
and one of them asked him why he acted like this. He said :
‘ When I looked round and saw the number of my followers
I thought to myself, ‘‘Now am I really equal to Bayazid.
Today, I am accompanied by many earnest disciples; so,
tomorrow, I shall without doubt ride with glor)" and honour
over the plain of the resurrection.”’ He added, Ht was then,
when I presumed this to be my destiny, that my donkey
made that seemingly incongruous noise you heard. By this
he wished to say, “Here is the reply that an ass makes to
him who has such pretensions, and thoughts so vain ! ” That
is why the fire of repentance fell so suddenly on my soul.

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and why my attitude has changed, and my imaginary posi-
tion has fallen to pieces.’

O you who change with every moment, you are as
Pharaoh to the roots of your hair. But if you destroy in
yourself the ego for a single day, your darkness will be
lighted up. Never say the word ‘I’. You, because of your
‘I’s’, are fallen into a hundred evils, and you will always be
tempted of the devil.

GOD SPEAKS TO MOSES

God one day said to Moses in secret: ‘Go and get a word of
advice from Satan.’ So Moses went to visit Iblis and when
he came to him asked him for a word of advice. ‘Always
remember,’ said Iblis, ‘this simple axiom: never say “I”, so
that you never may become like me.’

So long as there remains in you a little of self-love you
will partake of infidelity. Indolence is a barrier to the
spiritual way; but if you succeed in crossing this barrier a
hundred ‘I’s’ will break their heads in a moment.

Everyone sees your vanity and self-pride, your resentment,
envy, and anger, but you yourself do not see them. There is
a corner of your being full of dragons, and by negligence
you are delivered up to them; and you pet them and cherish
them night and day. So, if you are aware of your inner state,
why do you remain so listless!

THE DERVISH WHO POSSESSED A BEAUTIFUL
BEARD

In the time of Moses there was a dervish who spent days
and nights in a state of adoration, yet experienced no feeling
for spiritual things. He had a beautiful long beard, and
often while praying would stop to comb it. One day, seeing
Moses, he went to him and said : ‘O Pasha of Mount Sinai,

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ask God, I pray you, to tell me why I experience neither
spiritual satisfaction nor ecstasy.’

The next time Moses went up on Sinai he spoke to God
about the dervish, and God said, in a tone of displeasure:
‘Although this dervish has sought union with me, neverthe-
less he is constantly thinking about his long beard.’ When
Moses came down he told the Sufi what God had said. The
Sufi thereupon began tearing out his beard, weeping
bitterly. Gabriel then came along to Moses and said : ‘ Even
now your Sufi is thinking about his beard. He thought of
nothing else while praying, and is even more attached to it
while he is tearing it out!’

O you who think you have ceased to be pre-occupied
with your beard, you are plunged in an ocean of affliction.
When you can regard it with detachment you will have a
right to sail across this ocean. But if you plunge in with
your beard you will have difficulty in getting out.

ANOTHER ANECDOTE OF A MAN WITH
A LONG BEARD

A sot, who had a fine long beard, accidentally fell into deep
water. A passer-by seeing this, called out: ‘Throw away the
wallet from your head.’ The drowning man replied, ‘This
is not a wallet, it is my beard, and it is not this which cramps
me.’ The passer-by said, ‘Anyway, let go of it, or you will
drown.’

O you who are like goats, and have no shame of your
beards, so long as you have a body of desire and a demon to
truss you up, the pride of Pharaoh and Haman will be your
portion. Turn your back on the world as Moses did and then
you will be able to seize this Pharaoh by the beard and hold
him firm. He who travels on the path of self-striving must
regard his heart only as shish kabab. The man with the
watering-pot does not wait for the rain to fall.

35

THE QUERY OF THE NINETEENTH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘Tell me, you who are
celebrated throughout the world, what must I do to be
contented on this journey? If you tell me, my mind will be
easier, and I shall be willing to be led in this enterprise. In
fact, direction is necessary, so that one does not become
apprehensive. Since I only wish to accept the direction of the
invisible world I repel, with good reason, the false direction
of earthly creatures.’

‘As long as you live,’ replied the Hoopoe, ‘be content to
remember God, and be on the watch against indiscreet talk.
If you can do this the cares and sorrows of your soul will
vanish. Live in God in contentment; turn like the dome of
heaven for love of him. If you know of anything better, tell
it, O poor bird, so that you may be happy for at least a
moment.’

ANECDOTE OF A FRIEND OF GOD

A friend of God who was dying began to weep and those
with him asked why. ‘ I weep as the spring clouds,’ he said,
‘because the time has come when I should die and I am
disturbed. Seeing that my heart is already with God how
can I die?’ One of those present said: ‘Since your heart is
with God you will die a good death.’ The Sufi replied, ‘ How
can death come to him who is united to God! As I am
already with him, my death appears to be impossible.’

He who is content to exist as a particle of the great whole
loses his egoism and becomes free. Be in contentment with
your friend, like the rose in the calyx.

ALLEGORICAL ANECDOTE

A perfected man said: ‘For seventy years I have worked on
myself and I am now in ecstasy, contentment, and felicity,
G

(9°)

and in this state I participate in the Sovereign Majesty and
am united with Divinity itself. As for you, while you are
occupied with looking for the faults of others, how will
you be able to taste the joy of the unseen world? If you
look for faults with a searching eye, how will you be able
to see the things of the inner world? You would split a hair
for the faults of others, but to your own faults you turn a
blind eye. Acknowledge your own faults, then, guilty
though you be, God will have mercy on you.’

THE TWO DRUNKEN MEN

A man who drank too much of that which is limpid, often
came to the point when he lost both his senses and his self-
respect. Once, a friend came across him in this deplorable
state, lying on the road. So he got a sack and put him in
feet first and put the sack on his shoulder and set off for
home. On the way, another drunk appeared, reeling along,
supported by a companion. At this, the man whose head
hung out of the sack, woke up, and seeing the other in this
pitiable state said reprovingly: ‘Ah, unhappy man, in future
drink two cups of wine less, then you will be able to walk
as I do now — free and alone.’

Our own state is not different. We see faults because we
do not love. If we had the least understanding of real love,
the faults of those near to us would appear as good qualities.

THE LOVER AND HIS MISTRESS

A young man, brave and impetuous as a lion, was for five
years in love with a woman. In one of the eyes of this
beauty was a small speck, but the man, when gazing on
the beauty of his mistress, never saw it. How could a man,
so much in love, notice a tiny flaw? However, in time, his
love began to dwindle and he regained his power over him-
self. It was then that he noticed the speck, and asked her

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how it had come about. She said: ‘It appeared at the time
when your love began to cool. When your love for me
became defective my eye became so for you.’

O blind of heart! how long will you continue to look for
the faults of others? Strive to be aware of those things you
hide so carefully. When you see your faults in all their
ugliness you will not bother so much about those of others.

THE POLICEMAN AND THE DRUNKEN MAN

A policeman knocked down a drunken man who said to
him: ‘Why get into such a passion? You are doing some-
thing illegal. I am harming no one, but you are mixing your-
self up with drunkenness and throwing it into the road. You
are much more drunk than I, but no one notices it. Then
leave me alone, and ask for justice against yourself.’

36

QUESTION OF THE TWENTIETH BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘O Leader of the Way,
what ought I to ask the Simurgh if I arrive at the place where
he dwells? Since by him the world will be lighted up, I shall
not know what to ask. If I knew what is the best thing to
ask of the Simurgh on his throne, my mind would be easier.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘O Idiot! What! You don’t know
what to ask? Ask that which you wish most. A man should
know what he wishes to ask, though the Simurgh himself is
far better than anything you can wish. Will you learn from
him what you wish to ask?’

PRAYER OF SHAIKH RUBDAR

When Bu Ali Rubdar was at the point of death he pro-
nounced these words: ‘My soul is on my lips in expectation
of eternal welfare. The doors of heaven are open, and they

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have placed a throne for me in paradise. The saints who
dwell in the palace of immortality cry with the voices of
nightingales: “Enter, O true lover. Be thankful and walk
with joy, for no one on earth has ever seen this place.” O
God, if I obtain thy grace and favour my soul will not slip
from the hand of certainty. I shall not bow my head as in
the world of men, for my soul has been formed through thy
love, and thus I know neither heaven nor hell.

‘If I am reduced to ashes there will not be found in me
another being than Thou. I know Thee but I know not
religion or unbelief. I am Thou, Thou art I. I desire Thee,
my soul is in Thee. Thou alone art necessary to me. Thou
art for me this world and the world to come. Satisfy, ever
so little, the need of my wounded heart. Show, even a little,
thy love for me, for I breathe only by Thee.’

WORDS OF GOD TO DAVID

God from on High said to David: ‘Say to my servants: “O
handful of earth ! If I had not heaven for recompense and
hell for punishment, would you ever think of me? If there
were neither light nor fire, would you ever think of me?
But since I merit supreme respect you must adore me with-
out hope or fear; and yet, if you were never upheld by hope
or fear would you ever think of me? Since I am your Lord,
you should worship me from the depths of your heart. Re-
ject all that which is not I, burn it to ashes and cast the ashes
to the wind of excellence.” ’

MAHMUD AND AYAZ

One day, Mahmud called his favourite to him and gave him
his crown and made him sit on his throne, and said to him:
‘Ayaz, I give you my kingdom and my army. Reign, for
this country is yours; and I now wish you to take my place
and throw your ear-ring of slavery to the Moon and the
Fish.’

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When the officers and courtiers heard about it their eves
went black from jealousy and they said: ‘Never in the world
has a king given so much honour to a slave/ But Ay^ wept,
and they said to him: ‘Have you lost your senses? You are
no longer a slave but of the royalty. Why do you weep? Be
contented!’ Ay^ replied: ‘You do not see things as they
are, you do not understand that the Sultan of this great
countty has exiled me from his presence. He wishes me to
rule his kingdom, but I do not wish to be separated from
him. I wish to obey him but not to leave him. What have I
to do with government and royalty? My happiness is in
seeing his face.’

Learn from Ayaz how to ser\^e God, you who remain idle
day and night, occupied with cheap and \'ulgar pleasures.
Ay^ descends from the summit of power, but you do not
stir from where you are, neither have you any wish to
change yourself. To whom will you at last be able to tell
your sorrows ? So long as you depend on paradise and hell,
how will you be able to understand the secret which I wish
to reveal to you; but when you no longer depend on those
t\^^o the dawn of the mystety will lift itself from the night.
The garden of paradise moreover is not for the indifferent;
and the empyrean is only for the men of heart.

PRAYER OF RAbTaH

‘O God, you who know the secret of all things, bring to
pass the worldly desires of my enemies, and grant my friends
the eternity of the future life. But as for me, I am free of both.
Even if I possessed this present world or the world of the
future, I should esteem them little in comparison with being
near to you. I need only you. If I should turn my eyes to-
wards the two worlds, or desire anything but you, I should
be no more than an unbeliever.’

WORDS OF GOD TO DAVID

The Creator of the World spoke to David from behind the
veil of mystery. ‘All that exists, whether good or bad, visible
or invisible, moving or unmoving, is only a substitute if it
is not myself, for whom you will find neither replacement
nor equal. Since nothing can take the place of me, do not
separate yourself from me. I am necessary to you, you are
dependent on me. Therefore do not desire that which offers
itself if it be not L’

SULTAN MAHMUD AND THE IDOL OF SOMNAT

Mahmud and his army discovered at Somnat an idol named
Lat, which Mahmud decided to destroy. The Hindus, to save
it, offered ten times its weight in gold, but Mahmud refused
and ordered a great fire to be made to burn the idol. Then
one of his officers permitted himself to say: ‘Would it not
be better. Sire, to accept the gold and not to burn the idol?’
‘I should think,’ said Mahmud, ‘that on the day of supreme
reckoning the Creator would say to the assembled universe :
“Listen to what Azaz and Mahmud have done — the first
fashioned idols, the second sold them!”’

They say that when the idol of the fire-worshippers was
burning a hundred maunds of precious stones fell out, so
Mahmud obtained treasure as well. He said: ‘Lat has got
what he deserved and God has rcwaraed me.’

ANOTHER ANECDOTE OF MAHMUD

When this torch of kings left Gazna to make war on the
Hindus and encountered their mighty army, he was cast
down, and he made a vow to the King of Justice that if he
were victorious he would give all the booty that fell into
his hands to the dervdshes. He gained the victory, and his
army collected an enormous amount of treasure. When the
black-faces had retreated leaving the plunder, Mahmud said :

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‘ Send this to the dervishes, for I have promised God to do
so, and I must keep my vow.’ Then his officers protested
and said: ‘Why give so much silver and gold to a handful
of men who do not fight! Why not give it to the army which
has borne the brunt of the battle, or, at least, put it in the
treasury?’

The Sultan hesitated between his vow and the protests
of his army. Meanwhile, Bu Hassein, an idiot of God, who
was intelligent but uneducated, passed along that way.
Mahmud seeing him in the distance said: ‘Call that idiot;
tell him to come here and say what ought to be done, and I
will act accordingly; since he fears neither the Sultan nor
the army he will give an impartial opinion.’ When the
Sultan had put the case to Bu Hassein, the latter said: ‘Sire,
it is a question of two obols, but if you wish to act becomingly
towards God, think no more, O my dear, about these two
obols; and if you win another victory by his grace, be
ashamed to hold back two obols. Since God has given you
the victory, can that which belongs to God belong to you?’

Mahmud thereupon gave the treasure to the dervishes,
and became a great monarch.

37

QUESTION OF THE TWENTY-FIRST BIRD

Another bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘Tell us, O you who wish
to lead us to the unknown Majesty, what is most appreciated
at that court? It is necessary when going to kings to bear
precious gifts; only vile men approach them with empty
hands.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘If you follow my advice you will
take to the country of the Simurgh what is not found there.
Is it fitting that one should take what is there already? True
knowledge is found there, secrets are found there, obedience

to higher beings is found there. Take then the ardour of
love and the longing of the spirit; no one can offer other
than this. If a single sigh of love goes to that place it will
carry the perfume of the heart. That place is consecrated to
the essence of the soul. If a man should heave one sigh of
true contrition he will forthwith be in possession of
salvation.’

JOSEPH AND 2ULAIKHA

At the time when Zulaikha was enjoying her high rank and
dignity she had Joseph put in prison, and told one of her
slaves to give him fifty blows with a stick. ‘ Strike him hard,’
she said, ‘so that I shall be able to hear his cries.’ But this
good man did not wish to hurt Joseph, so he took the skin
of an animal, and said: ‘When I beat it, cry out at each
stroke.’ When Zulaikha heard the cries she went to the cell
and said: ‘You are too easy with him, strike harder.’ Then
the slave said to Joseph, ‘O radiance of the sun! If Zulaikha
examines you and does not see any marks, she will punish
me severely. Now, uncover your shoulders and brace up
your heart and bear the blows. If you cry out from the blows
she will take less notice of the marks.’ Joseph uncovered his
shoulders, the stick fell, and his cries went up to heaven.
When Zulaikha heard him she went and said: ‘It is enough,
these cries have produced their effect. Before, his groans
were nothing; now, they are very real.’

THE SHAIKH BEN ALI TUCI

Ben Ali Tuci, one of the great sages of his time, walked in
the valley of awareness and attention. I do not know of any-
one who possessed such grace and who attained such per-
fection. He once said : ‘ In the other world, the unfortunate
damned will see clearly the dwellers in heaven, who will be
able to tell them about the joys of that place and the taste of
union. The fortunate will say: “Vulgar joys do not exist here,
because the sun of divine beauty has appeared to us, and

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it is such that the eight paradises appear to be dark. In the
brightness of this beauty there remains of eternity neither
name nor trace!” Then those in the underworld will say:
‘‘We sense that what you say is true, but for us in this
horrible place it is evident that we have incurred the anger
of God, and for this we have been put far from his face. We
are reminded of the fire of the underworld by the fire of
remorse in our hearts.” ’

Strive to bear sorrow, affliction and wounds, and thereby
show your zeal. If 3^ou are wounded, accept it, and do not
give way to self-pity.

REQUEST TO MUHAMMAD

A man humbly asked permission to say a prayer on the
carpet of the Prophet, who refused, and said: ‘The earth
and the sand are burning. Put your face on the burning sand
and on the earth of the road, since all those who are wounded
by love must have the imprint on their face, and the scar
must be seen. Let the scar of the heart be seen, for by their
scars are known the men who are in the way of love.’

38

QUESTION OF THE TWENTY-SECOND BIRD AND
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST VALLEY
OR

THE VALLEY OF THE QUEST

This bird said to the Hoopoe: ‘O you who know the road
of which you have told us and on which you wish us to
accompany you, to me the way is dark, and in the gloom it
appears to be very difficult, and many parasangs in length.’

The Hoopoe replied: ‘We have seven valleys to cross and
only after we have crossed them shall we discover the
Simurgh. No one has ever come back into the world who

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has made this journey, and it is impossible to say how many
parasangs there are in front of us. Be patient, O fearful one,
since all those who went by this road were in your state.

‘The first valley is the Valley of the Quest, the second
the Valley of Love, the third is the Valley of Understanding,
the fourth is the Valley of Independence and Detachment,
the fifth of Pure Unity, the sixth is the Valley of Astonish-
ment, and the seventh is the Valley of Poverty and Nothing-
ness beyond w’hich one can go no farther.

‘When you enter the first valley, the Valley of the Quest,
a hundred difficulties will assail you; you will undergo a
hundred trials. There, the parrot of heaven is no more than
a fly. You will have to spend several years there, you will
have to make great efforts, and to change your state. You
will have to give up all that has seemed precious to you and
regard as nothing all that you possess. When you are sure
that you possess nothing, you will still have to detach your-
self from all that exists. Your heart will then be saved from
perdition and you will see the pure light of Divine Majesty
and your real wishes will be multiplied to infinity. One who
enters here will be filled with such longing that he will give
himself up completely to the quest symbolized by this valley.
He will ask of his cup-bearer a draught of wine, and when he
has drunk it nothing else will matter except the pursuit of
his true aim. Then he will no longer fear the dragons, the
guardians of the door, which seek to devour him. When the
door is opened and he enters, then dogma, belief and
unbelief — all cease to exist.’

EXTRACT FROM GANJ-NAMA THE BOOK OF
TREASURE OF OSMAN AMRU

When God breathed the pure breath of life into the body
of Adam, which was only earth and water, he wished that
the hosts of angels should not know about it, and not even
suspect it. So he said to them: ‘Prostrate yourselves before

C99;

Adam, O Celesdal Spirits ! ’ All of them then bowed them-
selves down on the earth, and when they were bowed down,
God breathed the breath of life into Adam and none of them
was aware of the secret that God wished to hide. That is,
none but Iblis, who said to himself, ‘No one shall see me
bend the knee. Even if my head falls from my body, it will
not be as bad as doing what God wishes. I know very well
that it is not just a question of Adam being on the earth,
so I don’t intend to bow my head down and not see the
secret.’ So instead of bowing down, Iblis watched, and saw
the secret. Afterwards God said: ‘O you who w^ere lying
in wait, you have stolen my secret, and for this I shall bring
about your death, for I do not wish any other being to
know about it. \^Tien an earthly king hides treasure he kills
the person who saw it being hid. You are this person.’

‘Lord,’ said Iblis, ‘grant a respite, for I am your serv^ant;
and tell me how I can expiate my sin?’ ‘Since you ask,’ said
God, ‘I will grant you a respite; nevertheless, from this
moment I shall put on your neck the collar of malediction
and I impose on you the name of liar and slanderer, so that
ever\"one will be on guard against you until the day of
resurrection.’

Iblis said: ‘^Tiat have I to fear from your malediction
since this pure treasure has been manifested to me? If male-
diction comes from you so does mercy. Where there is
poison there is also an antidote. You curse some creatures
and bless others. Now that I have transgressed I am the
creature of your malediction.’

If you cannot discover and understand the secret of which
I speak, it is not because it does not exist but because you
do not seek rightly. If you make a distinction between the
things which come from God you are not a man on the path
of the spirit. If you consider yourself honoured by the
diamond and humiliated by the stone, God is not with you.
Note well, you should not love the diamond and detest the

( loo)

stone, for both come from God. If your mistress in a
moment of frenzy throws a stone at you, that is better than
a jewel from another woman.

On the way of self-perfection a man must not loiter for
an instant. If he should stop for a moment working on him-
self he will slip back.

STORY OF MAJNUN

A man who loved God saw Majnun sifting the earth of the
road and said: ‘Majnun, what are you looking for?’ ‘I am
looking for Laila,’ he said. The man asked: ‘Do you hope
to find Laila there?’ ‘I look for her ever\nA^here,’ said
Majnun, ‘in the hope of finding her somewhere.’

YUSSUF HAMDANI

Yussuf Hamdani was a celebrated man of his time, a seer,
who understood the secrets of the worlds. He said : ‘All that
which is seen, either on the heights or in the depths — each
atom in fact, is another Jacob asking for news of Joseph
whom he has lost.’

In the spiritual way both love and hope are necessary. If you
do not have these you had better give up the quest. Man
must try to be patient. But is a lover ever patient? Be patient
and strive with hope to find someone who will show you
the way. Keep yourself within yourself and do not let
exterior life capture you.

STORY OF ABU SA’iD MAHNAH

Shaikh Mahnah was in a state of great perplexity, his heart
broken in two, when he saw in the distance an old villager
of pious appearance, walking leisurely, while from his body
emanated a bright light. The shaikh saluted him and then

(lOl)

told him about the sad state he was in. The old villager
listened, and after thinking a little said: ‘O Bu Sa’id, if they
were to fill with millet, not once but a hundred times, the
space from lowest earth to the throne of God, and if a bird
took one grain of millet in a thousand years, and then flew
a hundred times round the world, even in all that time your
soul would have no news of the celestial court and Bu Sa’id
would still be far off.’

Great patience is necessary for those who suffer; but no
one is patient. When the quest is diverted from the inner to
the outer, even if it should extend over the universe, in the
end it will be unsatisfying. He who is not engaged in the
quest of the inner life is no more than an animal — what
shall I say? He does not even exist, he is a non-entity, a form
without a soul.

MAHMUD AND THE SEEKER AFTER GOLD

One night Mahmud, riding alone, saw a man sifting earth
for gold; his head was bent and he had piled up here and
there heaps of sifted dust. The sultan looked at him and then
threw his bracelet among the heaps and rode off* like the
wind. The following night Mahmud returned and found
the man still sifting. ‘ What you found yesterday,’ said the
sultan, ‘should be enough to pay the tribute of the world,
and yet you still continue to sift! ’ The man replied: ‘I found
the bracelet you threw down, and it is because I have found
such a treasure that I must continue to search as long as I
live.’

Be like this man and search until the door is opened to
you. Your eyes will not be always shut; seek the door.

A SENTENCE OF RABi’ah

A man prayed: ‘O Lord, open a door that I may come to
you.’ Rabi’ah, hearing him, said: ‘O idiot! is the door shut?’

39

THE SECOND VALLEY
OR

THE VALLEY OF LOVE

The Hoopoe continued: ‘The next valley is The Valley of
Love. To enter it one must be a flaming fire — what shall I
say? A man must himself be fire. The face of the lover must
be enflamed, burning and impetuous as fire. True love
knows no after-thoughts; with love, good and evil cease
to exist.

‘But as for you, the heedless and the careless, this discourse
will not touch you, your teeth will not even nibble at it. A
loyal person stakes ready money, stakes his head even, to
be united to his friend. Others content themselves with
promising what they will do for you tomorrow. If he w^ho
sets out on this way will not engage himself wholly and
completely he will never be free from the sadness and melan-
choly which weigh him down. Until the falcon reaches his
aim he is agitated and distressed. If a fish is thrown on to the
beach by the waves it struggles to get back into the water.

‘In this valley, love is represented by fire, and reason by
smoke. When love comes reason disappears. Reason cannot
live with the folly of love; love has nothing to do with
human reason. If you possessed inner sight, the atoms of
the visible world would be manifested to you. But if you
look at things with the eye of ordinary reason you will never
understand how necessary it is to love. Only a man who has
been tested and is free can feel this. He who undertakes tliis
journey should have a thousand hearts so that he can sacrifice
one at every moment.’

AN AMOROUS KHOJA

A Khoja sold all that he possessed — furniture, slaves, and
ever}"thing, to buy beer from a young beer-seller. He became

(io3)

completely mad for love of this beer-seller. He was always
hungr}’ because if he were given bread he sold it to buy beer.
At last someone asked him: ^What is this love that brings
you into such a pitiable state? Tell me the secret!’ 'Love is
such/ he replied, 'that you will sell the merchandise of a
hundred worlds to buy beer. So long as you do not under-
stand this, you will never experience the true feeling of love.’

A STORY OF MAJNUN

The parents of Laila refused to let Majnun go near their tents.
But Majnun, intoxicated with love, borrowed the skin of
a sheep from a shepherd in the desert, where Laila’s tribe
pitched their tents. He bent his head down and put on the
sheep-skin, and said to the shepherd: 'In the name of God,
let me crawl along in the middle of your sheep, then lead
the flock past Laila’s tent, so that I may perhaps discover
her sweet perfume, and being concealed in this skin may
contrive something.’ The shepherd did as Majnun wished,
and as they passed her tent he saw her, and swooned away.
The shepherd then carried him from the tents into the
desert and threw water on his face to cool his burning
love.

Another day, Majnun was with some companions in the
desert, and one of them asked him: 'How can you, a noble-
man, go about naked? I wdll get some clothes for you if you
wish.’ Majnun said: 'No garments that I can wear are worthy
of my friend, so for me there is nothing better than my bare
body or a sheepskin. She, for me, is as ispand to avert the
evil eye. Majnun would willingly wear garments of silk and
cloth of gold, but he prefers this sheepskin by means of
which he caught sight of Laila.’

Love should tear aside your prudence. Love changes
your attitude. To love is to give up your ordinary life and
forsake your tawdry pleasures.

( 104)

A BEGGAR IN LOVE WITH AYA2

A poor dendsh once fell in love with Ayaz, and the news
soon spread. When Ayaz rode through the street, perfumed
with musk, this spiritual wanton would wait and run out to
see him, and would stare at him as a polo player fixes his
eye on the ball. At last they told Mahmud about this beggar
being in love with Ayaz. One day, when Ayaz was riding
with the sultan, the latter stopped and looked at this dervish
and he saw that the soul of Ayaz was as a grain of barley and
the face of the man as a ball of dough which encloses it.

He saw that the back of the beggar was curved like a
mallet, and his head was turning every way at once like the
ball in polo. Mahmud said: ‘Miserable beggar, do you expect
to drink from the same cup as the Sultan?’ ‘Although you
call me a beggar,’ replied the dervish, ‘I am not inferior to
you in the play of love. Love and poverty go together. You
are the sovereign, and your heart is luminous ; but for love,
a burning heart like mine is necessary. Your love is common-
place. I suffer from the pain of absence. You are with the
beloved; but in love one must know how to endure the
pain of absence.’ The sultan said: ‘O you who have with-
drawn from ordinary existence, love to you is as a game of
polo?’ ‘It is,’ replied the beggar, ‘because the ball is always
in movement, as I am, and I as the ball. The ball and I have
heads that turn, though we have neither hands nor feet. We
can speak together about the suffering that the mallet causes
us; but the ball is happier than I, for the pony touches it from
time to time with its feet. The ball receives the blows of the
mallet on his body, but I feel them in my heart.’

‘Poor Dervish!’ said the sultan, ‘you boast of your
poverty, but where is your evidence?’

‘If I sacrifice everything for love,’ replied the der^dsh,
‘that is a token of my spiritual poverty. And if you, O
Mahmud, ever have the experience of real love, sacrifice
your life for it; if not you have no right to speak of love.’

( 105 )

So saying, he died, and the world became dark for
Mahmud.

AN ARAB IN PERSIA

An Arab once went to Persia and was astonished at the
customs of the country. One day he happened to pass the
dwelling of a group of Qalandars and saw a handful of men
who said not a word. They had no wives, and not even an
obol, but they were pure of heart and undefiled. Each held
a flask of muddy wine which he carefully filled before sitting
down. The Arab felt sympathetic towards these men; he
stopped and at that moment his mind and heart fell on to
the road.

At this the Qalandars said: ‘Enter, O man of nothing!’
So he went in, willy-nilly, just like that! He was given a cup
of wine and at once lost his senses. He became drunk and
his strength was reduced to nothing. His gold and silver and
valuables were taken from him by one of the Qalandars,
more wine was given to him and at last they put him out of
the house. Then this Arab returned to his own countr}", one-
eyed and poor, his state changed and his lips dry. When he
arrived at his native place his companions asked him: ‘What
is the matter? What have you done with your money and
valuables? Were they stolen while you slept? Have you done
badly in Persia? Tell us! Perhaps we can help you!’

‘I was moving about in the street,’ said he, ‘and all at
once I fell in with the Qalandars. I know nothing else except
that my possessions and I were parted and now I have
nothing.’ They asked him to describe the Qalandars. He
only replied, ‘They simply said to me “Enter” ’.

The Arab remained ever after in a state of surprise and
astonishment, like a child, and dumbfounded by the word
‘Enter’.

You too, put your foot forward. If you do not wish to,
then follow your fantasies. But if you prefer the secrets of

H

(io6)

the love of your soul you u^ill sacrifice everything. You will
lose what you considered to be valuable, but you will soon
hear the sacramental word ‘Enter’.

THE LOVER WHO LOST HIS MISTRESS

A man of high ideals fell in love with a beautiful young
woman. But, as time went on, she to whom he had given his
heart became thin, and as yellow as a sprig of saffron. The
bright day faded from her heart; and death, who was watch-
ing from far off, came near. When her lover learnt of this he
took a dagger and said: ‘I will go and kill my mistress where
she lies so that this beauty, who is like a wonderful picture,
does not die by nature.’ They said to him: ‘Are you mad!
Why do you wish to kill her when she is already at the point
of death?’ The lover said: ‘If she dies at my hands they will
kill me, since I am forbidden to do that myself. Then, on the
day of resurrection, we shall be together as we are now. If
I am put to death because of my passion for her we shall be
as one, as the clear flame of a lighted candle.’

Lovers who have staked their lives for their love have
entered on the Path. In the Life of the Spirit they are united
to the object of their affection.

ABRAHAM AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH

When the friend of God came to die he was reluctant to
deliver his soul to Azrael. ‘Wait,’ he said to Azrael. ‘Has the
King of the Universe asked for it?’ But God, The Most
High, said to Abraham : ‘ If you truly were my friend, would
you not wish to come to me? He who regrets giving his life
for his friend shall have it torn from him with a sword.’
Then, one of those present said : ‘O Abraham, Light of the
World, why will you not give up your life with good grace
to Azrael? Lovers in the Spiritual Way stake their lives for
their love; you set store on yours.’ Abraham said: ‘How can

( 107 )

I let go my life when Azrael has put his foot in the way? I
disregarded his request because I thought only of God.
When Nimrod cast me into the fire and Gabriel came to me,
I disregarded him because I thought only of God. Seeing
that I turned my head from Gabriel, can I be expected to
give up my soul to Azrael? When I hear God say, “Give me
your life!” then it will be worth no more than a grain of
barley. How can I give my life to someone unless he asks
for it? That is all I have to say.’

40

THE THIRD VALLEY
OR

THE VALLEY OF UNDERSTANDING

The Hoopoe continued: ‘After the valley of which I have
spoken, there comes another — The Valley of Understanding,
which has neither beginning nor end. No way is equal to
this way, and the distance to be travelled to cross it is beyond
reckoning.

‘Understanding, for each traveller, is enduring; but know-
ledge is temporary. The soul, like the body, is in a state of
progress or decline; and the Spiritual Way reveals itself only
in the degree to which the traveller has overcome his faults
and weaknesses, his sleep and his inertia, and each will
approach nearer to his aim according to his effort. Even if
a gnat were to fly with all its might could it equal the speed
of the wind? There are different ways of crossing this Valley,
and all birds do not fly alike. Understanding can be arrived
at variously — some have found the Mihrab, others the idol.
When the sun of understanding brightens this road each re-
ceives light according to his merit and he finds the degree
assigned to him in the understanding of truth. When the
mystery of the essence of beings reveals itself clearly to him

( io8)

the furnace of this world becomes a garden of flowers. He
who is striving will be able to see the almond in its hard
shell. He will no longer be pre-occupied with himself, but
will look up at the face of his friend. In each atom he will
see the whole; he will ponder over thousands of bright
secrets.

‘ But, how many have lost their way in this search for one
who has found the mysteries ! It is necessary to have a deep
and lasting wish to become as we ought to be in order to
cross this difficult valley. Once you have tasted the secrets
you will have a real wish to understand them. But, whatever
you may attain, never forget the words of the Koran, “Is
there anything more?”

‘As for you who are asleep (and I cannot commend you for
this), why not put on mourning? You, who have not seen
the beauty of your friend, get up and search ! How long will
you stay as you are, like a donkey without a halter! ’

TEARS OF STONE

There is a man in China who gathers stones, without ceasing.
He sheds abundant tears, and as the tears fall on the ground
they change into stones, which again he gathers. If the clouds
were to weep tears Hke these it would be a matter for sorrow
and sighing.

Real knowledge becomes the possession of the true seeker.
If it is necessary to seek knowledge in China, then go. But
knowledge is distorted by the formal mind, it becomes petri-
fied, Like stones. How long must real knowledge continue to
be misunderstood? This world, this house of sorrows, is in
darkness; but true knowledge is a jewel, it will burn like a
lamp and guide you in this gloomy place. If you spurn this
jewel you will ever be a prey to regret. If you lag behind you
will weep bitter tears. But if you sleep little by night, and
fast by day, you may find what you seek. Seek, then, and be
lost in the quest.

( 109)

THE SLEEPING LOVER

A lover, uneasy, troubled in his mind, and worn out with
sighing, fell asleep on the mound of a grave. His mistress
coming upon him and finding him asleep wrote a note and
pinned it to his cloak. When he woke and read what she had
written he groaned with anguish, for it said: 'O dumb man!
rise up, and if you are a merchant, do business and get
money; if you are an ascetic, wake at night and pray to God
and be his slave. But if you are a lover, be ashamed of your-
self. What has sleep to do with a lover’s eyes? By day he
measures the wind; at night his burning heart lights up his
face with the brightness of the moon. As you are no such
man, no longer boast of loving me. If a man can sleep else-
where than in his shroud I may call him a lover — but, of
himself.’

THE SENTINEL IN LOVE

A soldier was in love. Even if not on guard he could never
rest. At last, a friend begged him to have a few hours’ sleep.
The soldier said : ' I am a sentinel, and I am in love. How can
I rest? A soldier on duty must not sleep, so it is an advantage
to him to be in love. Each night love puts me to the test, and
thus I can stay awake and keep watch on the fort. This love is
a friend to the sentinel, for wakefulness becomes part of him ;
he who reaches this state will ever be on the watch.’

Do not sleep, O man, if you are striving for knowledge of
yourself. Guard well the fortress of your heart, for there are
thieves everywhere. Do not let brigands steal the jewel you
carry. True knowledge will come to him who can stay awake.
He who patiently keeps watch will be aware when God comes
near him. True lovers who wish to surrender themselves to
the intoxication of love go apart together. He who has
spiritual love holds in his hand the keys of the two worlds. If
one is a woman one becomes a man; and if one is a man one
becomes a deep ocean.

( "o)

MAHMUD AND THE IDIOT OF GOD

One day, in the desert, Mahmud saw a faquir whose head
was bowed in sadness and whose back was bent with sorrow.
When the sultan went up to him the man said: ‘Begone! or
I will give you a hundred blows. Go away, I tell you, you are
no monarch but a man of vile thinking, an unbeliever in the
grace of God.’ Mahmud answered sharply: ‘Speak to me as
befits a sultan, not in that fashion.’ The faquir replied:
‘If you knew, O ignorant one, how you are turned upside
down, earth and ashes would not suffice ; you would lament
without ceasing and put fire on your head.’

41

THE FOURTH VALLEY
OR

THE VALLEY OF

INDEPENDENCE AND DETACHMENT

The Hoopoe continued: ‘Then comes the valley where there
is neither the desire to possess nor the wish to discover. In
this state of the soul a cold wind blows, so violent- that in a
moment it devastates an immense space: the seven oceans
are no more than a pool, the seven planets a mere spark, the
seven heavens a corpse, the seven hells broken ice. Then, an
astonishing thing, beyond reason! An ant has the strength of
a hundred elephants, and a hundred caravans perish while a
rook is filling his crop.

‘ In order that Adam might receive the celestial light, hosts
of green-clad angels were consumed by sorrow. So that
Noah might become a carpenter of God and build the ark,
thousands of creatures perished in the waters. Myriads of
gnats fell on the army of Abrahah so that that king would be
overthrown. Thousands of the first-born died so that Moses
might see God. Thousands of people took the Christian

(Ill)

girdle so that Christ could possess the secret of God. Thou-
sands of hearts and souls were pillaged so that Muhammad
might ascend for one night to heaven. In this Valley nothing
old or new has value; you can act or not act. If you saw a
whole world burning until hearts were only shish kabab, it
would be only a dream compared to reality. If myriads of
souls were to fall into this boundless ocean it would be as a
drop of dew. If heaven and earth were to burst into minute
particles it would be no more than a leaf falling from a tree;
and if everything were to be annihilated, from the fish to the
moon, would there be found in the depths of a pit the leg of
a lame ant? If there remain no trace of either of men or jinn,
the secret of a drop of water from which all has been formed
is stiU to be pondered over.’

THE YOUNG MAN FALLEN INTO A PIT

In my village there was a young man beautiful as Joseph, who
fell into a pit and the earth caved in on him. When they got
him out he was in a sad state. This excellent young man was
called Muhammad, and was liked by ever}"one. His father
groaned when he saw him and said : ‘ O Muhammad, you are
the light of my eyes and the soul of your father. O my son,
say one word to your father!’ The son said one word and
gave up the ghost, and that is all.

O you who are a young pupil on the path of spiritual
knowledge and who are able to observe and ponder, think
about Muhammad and Adam; think about Adam and the
atoms, the whole and the particles of the whole; speak of the
earth and heavens, of the mountains and the ocean ; speak of
the fairies and the gods, of men and angels, of a hundred
thousand pure souls; speak of the painful moment of the
giving up of the soul; say that every individual, soul and
body, are nothing. If you reduce the two worlds to dust and
sift them a hundred times, what will it be for you? It will be

( ”2)

like a palace upside down, and you will find nothing on the
surface of the siftings.

This Vallet is not so easy to cross as you in vour simplicity
perhaps think. Even when the blood of your heart shall fill
Ae ocean, you will only be able to make the first stage. Even
if you were to journey over all the ways of the world you
would still find yourself at the first step. No traveller has seen
the limit of this journey neither has he found a remedy for
love. If you halt you are petrified, or you may even die; if you
continue on your way, always advancing, you will hear until
eternity the cr\'; Go still further.’ You can neither go nor
stay. It is no advantage either to live or to die.

What profit have you derived from all that has befallen you ?
What have you gained from the difficulties you have been able
to endure? It matters little whether you beat your head or no.
O you who hear me, remain silent, and work actively.

Give up your useless aims and pursue the essential things.
Be occupied as little as possible with things of the outer
world but much with things of the inner world; then right
action will overcome inaction. But those who find no remedy
in acting, had better do nothing since you must know when
to act and when to refrain from action. But how to know
what you cannot know ? And yet it is possible to act as you
should, even without knowing. Forget all that you have
done up till now, and strive to be independent and sufficient
in yourself, though sometimes you will weep and some-
times rejoice. In this Fourth Valley the lightning of power,
which is the discovery of your own resources, of self-
sufficiency, blazes up so that the heat consumes a hundred
worlds. Since hundreds of worlds are reduced to powder
is it strange that yours also will disappear?

the astrologer

Have you ever seen a wise man set out a tablet and cover it
with sand? There he traces figures and designs, and places

(”5)

the stars and planets, the heavens and the earth. Sometimes
he makes a prediction from the heavens, sometimes from
earth. He also draws the constellations and the signs of the
Zodiac and indicates the rising and setting of the stars, and
from this he deduces good or bad auguries. When he has
cast a horoscope, of good or bad fortune, he takes the tablet
by a corner and scatters the sand, and it is as if all those signs
and figures had never existed.

The accidental surface of this world is like the tablet. If
you have not the strength to resist the longing for the super-
ficial things of this world turn away from it and sit in a
corner. Men and women come into life without any idea of
the inner and the outer worlds.

THE FLY AND THE HONEY

A fly in search of honey saw a beehive in a garden. The
desire for honey put her into such a state that you would
have taken her for an Azad, and she called out : ‘ I will give
an obol to anyone who will help me get into this hive.’
Someone took pity on her, and for an obol helped her in.
But no sooner was she in than her legs became stuck in the
honey. Though she fluttered her wings and skipped about
it became worse, and she moaned: ‘This is tyranny, this is
poison. I am caught. I gave an obol to get in but would
gladly give two to get out. ’

‘In this Valley,’ continued the Hoopoe, ‘no one must
remain inactive, and one must enter it only after having
reached a certain stage of development. Now it is time to
work instead of living in uncertainty and passing one’s time
heedlessly. Rouse yourself from apathy, renounce inner and
outer attachments, and cross this difficult valley; for if you
do not renounce them you will become more heedless than
the worshippers of many gods, and you will never become
self-sufficient,’

( ”4)

WORDS OF A SHAIKH TO A PUPIL

A pupil demanded an answer from his master to ah idle
question. The shaikh said: ‘First wash your face. Can the
perfume of musk be smelled in the odour of putrefaction.^
I do not impart knowledge to drunken men. ’

A DERVISH IN LOVE WITH THE

dog-keeper’s daughter

There was once a celebrated shaikh who wore the khirka of
poverty', but he fell deeply in love with the daughter of a
man who looked after dogs, and in hope of seeing her lived
and slept in the street. The girl’s mother discovered this, and
said to the shaikh: ‘You know, of course, that we are dog-
keepers, but since you have lost your heart to our daughter
you may marry her in a year, and lodge with us; and you
must consent to be a dog-keeper and accept our way of life.’
As the shaikh was no weakling in love he took off his Sufi
mantle and set to work. Every day he took a dog into the
bazaar, and continued to do so for almost a year. One day,
another Sufi, who was also his friend, said to him: ‘O man
of nothing, for thirtv^ years you have worked in, and pon-
dered over, spiritual things, and now you do what your
equals have never done!’ The shaikh replied: ‘You do not
see things in their true light, so stop protesting. If you wish
to understand, learn that God alone knows the secret and
only he can reveal it. It is better to appear ridiculous than,
like vou, never to have penetrated the secrets of the spiritual
Way.’

42

THE FIFTH VALLEY
OR

THE VALLEY OF UNITY

The Hoopoe continued: ‘You will next have to cross the
Valley of Unity. In this valley eveiy'thing is broken in pieces

(IIJ)

and then unified. All who raise their heads here raise them
from the same collar. Although you seem to see many beings,
in reality there is only one — all make one which is complete
in its unity. Again, that which you see as a unity is not
different from that which appears as number. And as the
Being of whom I speak is beyond unity and numbering,
cease to think of eternity as before and after, and since these
two eternities have vanished, cease to speak of them. When
all that is visible is reduced to nothing, what is there left to
contemplate?’

REPLY OF AN IDIOT OF GOD

Someone asked a man of understanding: ‘What is the
world? What can it be compared to?’ He replied: ‘This
world, which is compounded of horrors and crime, is like a
palm-tree of wax, adorned with a hundred colours. If you
squee2e the tree it becomes a lump of wax; therefore the
colours and shapes you admire are not worth an obol. If
there is unity there cannot be duality; neither “I” nor
“Thou” has significance.

‘ But what is the use of my words, though they come from
the depth of my soul, if you do not ponder over them. If you
have fallen into the ocean of exterior life, like a partridge
whose wings and feathers cannot support it, then never
cease to think about how to reach the shore. ’

SHAIKH BU ALl DAKKAH

An old woman offered Bu All a piece of gold saying: ‘Accept
this from me.’ He replied: ‘I can accept things only from
God.’ The old woman retorted: ‘Where did you learn to see
double? You are not a man of power to bind and unbind.
If you were not squint-eyed would you see several things at
once?’

There is neither Ka’aba nor Pagoda. Learn from my
mouth the true doctrine— the eternal existence of Being. We

(ii6)

must not see anyone other than Him. We are in Him, by
Him, and with Him. We may also be outside these states.
Whoever is not immersed in the Ocean of Unity is not
worthy of the race of men.

The day will come when the Sun will draw^ aside the
veil which covers it. So long as you are separate, good
and evil will arise in you, but when you lose yourself
in the sun of the divine essence they will be transcended
by love. While you loiter on the road you will be held
back by faults and weaknesses. Have you not yet realized
that in your body there are conceit, vanity, self-pride, self-
love and other dirty things! Though the serpent and the
scorpion may seem to be dead within you they are only
asleep; and if something touches them they will wake up
with the strength of a hundred dragons. In each of us is a
Hell of serpents. If you make yourself secure against these
unclean creatures you may remain tranquil; if not, they will
sting you even in the dust of the tomb until the day of
reckoning.

And now, O Attar, leave your metaphorical discourses
and return to the description of the mysterious Valley of
Unity.

The Hoopoe continued: ‘When the spiritual traveller
enters this valley he will disappear and be lost to sight
because the Unique Being will manifest himself; he will be
silent because this Being wiU speak.

‘The part will become the whole, or rather, there will be
neither part nor whole. In the School of the Secret you will
see thousands of men with intellectual knowledge, their lips
parted in silence. What is intellectual knowledge here? It
stops on the threshold of the door like a blind child. He who
discovers something of this secret turns his face from the
kingdom of the tu^o worlds. The Being I speak of does not
exist separately; everyone is this Being, existence and non-
existence is this Being. ’

(117)

PRAYER OF LOKMAN SARKHASl

Lokman of SarkhasI said: 'O God, I am old, and my mind is
troubled; I have strayed from the Way. To an old slave they
give a certificate of freedom. In your service, O my King,
my black hair has become white as snow. I am a slave, cast
down; give me now the certificate of freedom.’

A voice from the inner world replied: ‘You, who have
been specially admitted to the sanctuar}^, know that he who
wishes for release from slavery must discard his reason, and
not occupy himself with cares and anxieties.’

Lokman said: ‘O my God, I desire only you, and I know
'that I must not give way to imagination or care and anxiety.’
When Lokman had renounced these things, he said: ‘Now
I do not know what I am. I am not a slave, but what am I?
My slavery is ended, but my freedom has not taken place : in
my heart is neither joy nor sadness. I am without quality,
yet I am not deprived of it. I am a contemplative, yet I do
not possess contemplation. I do not know if Thou art I or
I am Thou; I have been reduced to nothing in Thee and
duality has been lost.’

A LOVER RESCUES HIS MISTRESS
FROM THE WATER

A young woman fell into a river, and her lover jumped in
to save her. When he reached her she said : ‘ Oh, why do you
risk your life because of me?’ He said, ‘For me there exists
no other person than you. When we are together then truly I
am you and you are me. We two are one. Our two bodies are
one, and that is all.’

When duality disappears, unity is found.

ANOTHER STORY OF MAHMUD AND AYAZ

It is related that once Farouk and Masoud were present at
a review of Mahmud’s army, which consisted of innumerable

(ii8)

elephants, horses and troops, so that the earth was as though
covered with ants and locusts. Ayaz and Hassan accompanied
Mahmud who was seated on a high place.

As the immense army marched past them the great
monarch unloosed his tongue and said to Ayaz: ‘My son,
all these elephants and horses and men of mine are now
yours, for my love for you is such that I look on you as
king.’ Although these words were said by the renowned
Mahmud, Ayaz appeared indifferent and unmoved; he
neither thanked the king nor commented. Hassan, aston-
ished, said to him: ‘Ayaz, a King has honoured you, a
simple slave, and you show not the least sign of gratitude;
you neither bow nor prostrate yourself in token of respect.’
Ayaz thought a little and then said: ‘I must give two
answers to your reproach : the first is that if I, who have
neither stability nor position, wish to show my devotion to
the King, I can only fall in the dust before him in a sort of
humiliation or else sing his praises in a whining voice.
Between doing too much or too little it is better to do
nothing. The slave is the King’s, and his respect for the
King is taken for granted. As for the honour this fortunate
monarch has done me, if the two worlds should proclaim
his praises their testimony would not be equal to his merit.
If I do not behave ostentatiously and protest my fidelity it
is because I feel I am not worthy to do so.’

Hassan said: ‘O Ayaz, I see now that you are grateful,
and I give you credit for being worthy of a hundred favours.’
Then he added, ‘Now give me the second answer.’ But
Ayaz said, ‘ I cannot speak freely before you, I can only do
so if I am alone with the King. You are not Mahram of the
secret.’ So the king asked Hassan to leave them, and when
there was neither ‘we’ nor ‘I’ Ayaz said: ‘When the King
deigns to cast his eyes on me he annihilates my existence by
the brightness of his rays. Since in the light of his glorious

("9)

sun I no longer exist, how shall I prostrate myself? Ayaz is
his shadow, lost in the sun of his face.’

43

THE SIXTH VALLEY
THE VALLEY OF ASTONISHMENT
AND BEWILDERMENT

After the Valley of Unity comes the Valley of Astonishment
and Bewilderment, where one is a prey to sadness and dejec-
tion. There sighs are like swords, and each breath a bitter
sigh; there, is sorrow and lamentation, and a burning eager-
ness. It is at once day and night. There, is fire, yet a man is
depressed and despondent. How, in his bewilderment, shall
he continue his way? But he who has achieved unity forgets
aU and forgets himself. If he is asked : ‘Are you, or are you
not? Have you or have you not the feeling of existence? Are
you in the middle or on the border? Are you mortal or
immortal?’ he will reply with certainty: ‘I know nothing, I
understand nothing, I am unaware of myself. I am in love,
but with whom I do not know. My heart is at the same time
both full and empty of love.’

THE PRINCESS IN LOVE WITH HER SLAVE

A king, whose empire stretched to the far horizons, had a
daughter as beautiful as the moon. Before her loveliness even
the fairies were abashed. Her dimpled chin resembled the
well of Joseph, and the locks of her hair wounded a hundred
hearts. Her eyebrows were twin bows, and when she loosed
their arrows the space between sang her praise. Her eyes,
languorous as the narcissus, threw thorns of her eyelashes in
the path of the wise. Her face was as the sun when he took
the moon’s virginity. The Angel Gabriel could not tear his
eyes from the pearls and rubies of her mouth. A smile of her

( 120)

lips dried up the water of life in the beholder, who yet begged
alms from these same lips. Whoever glanced at her chin fell
headlong into a spring of bubbling water.

The king also had a slave, a youth, so handsome that the
sun grew pale and the light of the moon diminished. When
he walked in the streets and market-place crowds stopped to
gaze at him.

By chance one day the princess saw this slave, and in a
moment her heart slipped from her hand. Reason forsook her
and love took possession. Her soul, sweet as Shirin, turned
bitter. Withdrawing from her companions she mused, and
musing and reflecting, began to burn. Then she called her
ten young maids of honour. They were excellent musicians
and played on the shawms and pipes; their voices wxre those
of nightingales, and their singing, which tore the soul, was
worthy of David. Gathering them around her she told them
about her state, saying that she was ready to sacrifice her
name, her honour, and her life for the love of this youth;
for when one is deep in love one is good for nothing else.
‘But,’ she said, ‘if I tell him of my love no doubt he will do
something rash. If it becomes known that I have been inti-
mate with a slave both he and I will suffer. On the other
hand, if he does not possess me, I shall die lamenting behind
the curtain of the harem. I have read a hundred books on
patience and still I am without it. What can I do! I must find
a way to enjoy the love of this slender cypress, so that the
desire of my body shall accord with the longing of my soul —
and this must be done without his knowing.’

Then the sweet-voiced maids said: ‘Do not grieve. To-
night we will bring him here unknown to anyone, and even
he will know nothing about it.’

Soon, one of the young girls went in secret to the slave
and asked him, as if to play with him, to bring two cups of
wine. Into one cup she threw a drug, contriving that he
should drink it. He at once fell asleep, so that she was able

(I2I)

to carry out her plan, and the youth of the silver breast
remained without news of the two worlds.

When night came the maids of honour went softly to
where he lay and put him on a litter and carried him to the
princess. Then they sat him on a golden throne and placed
a coronet of pearls on his head. At midnight, still a little
drugged, he opened his eyes and saw a palace as fair as
paradise, and around him were golden seats. The place was
lighted by ten great candles perfumed with amber, and
sweet aloe wood burned in pans. The maidens began to
sing, but in such sweet strains that reason bade farewell to
the spirit, and the soul to the body. Then the sun of wine
went round to the light of the candles. Bewildered with the
joy of his surroundings and dazzled by the beauty of the
princess, the youth lost his wits. He was no longer really
in this world nor was he in the other. With a heart full of
love, and a body possessed with desire, amid these delights he
fell into a state of ecstasy. His eyes were fastened on her
beauty and his ears to the sound of the reed pipes. His
nostrils took in the perfume of amber and the wine in his
mouth became like liquid fire. The princess kissed him, and
he shed tears of joy while she mingled hers with his. Some-
times she pressed sweet kisses on his mouth, sometimes they
were tinged with salt; sometimes she ruffled his long hair,
sometimes she lost herself in his eyes. He possessed her; and
so they passed the time until the dawn appeared in the East.
When morning Zephyr breathed the young slave became sad;
but they sent him to sleep again and took him back to his
quarters.

When he of the silver breast came to himself, without
knowing why, he began to weep. One might say the thing
was finished, so what was the good of crying out. He tore his
clothes, pulled his hair and put earth on his head. Those
about him asked why he was doing this, and what had
happened. He said: Ht is impossible to describe what I have

I

( 122)

seen, no one else can ever see it except in a dream, for what
has happened to me can never have happened to anyone
before. Never was there a more astonishing mystery.’

Another said: ‘Wake up, and tell us at least one of the
hundred things that happened.’ He replied: ‘lam in a tumult
because what I have seen has happened to me in another
body. While hearing nothing I have heard everything, while
seeing nothing I have seen everything.’

Another said: ‘Have you lost your wits or have you just
been dreaming?’ ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘I don’t know if I was drunk
or sober. What can be more puzzling than something which
is neither revealed nor hidden. What I have seen I can never
forget, yet I have no idea where it happened. For one whole
night I revelled with a beauty who is without equal. Who
and what she is I do not know. Only love remains, and that
is all. But God knows the truth.’

THE MOTHER AND HER DEAD DAUGHTER

A passer-by, who saw a mother weeping over her daughter’s
grave said: ‘This woman is superior to us men, for she
knows whom she has lost and from whom she is parted.
Happy the woman, or man, who knows w’hom he has lost,
and for whom he weeps. As for me, though I sit in mourning
and my tears flow like rain, I do not know for whom I weep.
This woman carries away the ball of excellence from thou-
sands like me, for she has found the perfume of the being she
has lost.’-

THE LOST KEY

A Sufi heard a man cry out: ‘Has anyone found a key? My
door is locked and I stand in the dust of the road. If my door
stays shut what shall I do?’

The Sufi said to him: ‘Why do you worry? Since it is your
door, stay near to it, even though it be shut. If you have
patience to wait long enough no doubt someone will open

( 123 )

it for you. Your situation is better than mine for I have
neither door nor key. Would to God that I could find a
door, open or shut.’

Man lives in a state of imagination, in a dream; no one
sees things as they are. To him who says to you: ‘What shall
I do?’ say to him: ‘Do not do as you have always done;
do not act as you have always acted.’ He who enters the
Valley of Astonishment has enough sorrow for a hundred
worlds. For myself, I am bewildered and gone astray.
Whither shall I direct my steps? Would to God I knew ! But,
remember; the groans of men bring down mercy.

THE PUPIL WHO SAW HIS TEACHER IN A DREAM

A pupil one night saw his dead teacher in a dream and said
to him: ‘Tell me what state you are in now. Since you went
I have been lost in bewilderment, and burned up with grief.’

The pir replied: ‘I am in such a state of amazement that I
can only bite the back of my hand. I am in the pit, dumb-
founded; and I have had more of a shock than ever I
experienced in life.’

44

THE SEVENTH VALLEY
OR

THE VALLEY OF DEPRIVATION AND DEATH

The Hoopoe continued: ‘Last of all comes the Valley of
Deprivation and Death, which it is almost impossible to
describe. The essence of this Valley is forgetfulness, dumb-
ness, deafness and distraction; the thousand shadows which
surround you disappear in a single ray of the celestial sun.
When the ocean of immensity begins to heave, the pattern
on its surface loses its form; and this pattern is no other
than the world present and the world to come. Whoever

( 124)

declares that he does not exist acquires great merit. The drop
that becomes part of this great ocean abides there for ever
and in peace. In this calm sea, a man, at first, experiences only
humiliation and overthrow; but when he emerges from this
state he will understand it as creation, and many secrets will
be revealed to him.

‘Many beings have missed taking the first step and so have
not been able to take the second — they can only be com-
pared to minerals. When aloe wood and thorns are reduced
to ashes they both look alike — but their quality is different.
An impure object dropped into rose-water remains impure
because of its innate qualities; but a pure object dropped in
the ocean will lose its specific existence and will participate
in the ocean and in its movement. In ceasing to exist separ-
ately it retains its beauty. It exists and non-exists. How can
this be? The mind cannot conceive it.’

THE ADVICE OF NASSIR UDDIN

The beloved of Tus, that ocean of spiritual secrets, said to
one of his disciples: ‘Melt yourself in the fire of love until
you become as thin as a hair, then you will be fit to take
your place among the locks of your beloved. If your eyes are
turned towards the Way and if you are clear-seeing, then
contemplate and ponder, hair by hair.

‘He who leaves the world to follow this Way, finds death;
he who finds death finds immortality. O my heart, if you
have been turned inside out, cross the bridge Sirat and the
burning fire; for when the oil in the lamp is burning it pro-
duces smoke as black as an old crow, but when it has been
consumed by fire it ceases to have a coarse existence.

‘If you wish to arrive at that high place first get rid of
yourself; then go out from nothing as another Borak. Put
on the khirka of nothingness and drink of the cup of anni-
hilation, then cover your breast with the belt of belittlement

(1^5)

and put on your head the burnous of non-existence. Place
your foot in the stirrup of non-attachment, and urge your
useless steed towards the place where there is nothing. But
if there remains in you the least egoism the seven seas will
be, for you, full of adversity.’

STORY OF THE MOTHS

One night, the moths met together tormented by a desire to
be united to the candle. They said: ‘We must send someone
who will bring us information about the obj ect of our amorous
quest.’ So one of them set off and came to a castle, and in-
side he saw the light of a candle. He returned, and according
to his understanding, reported what he had seen. But the
wise moth who presided over the gathering expressed the
opinion that he understood nothing about the candle. So
another moth went there. He touched the flame with the tip
of his wings, but the heat drove him oflF. His report being
no more satisfying than that of the first, a third went out.
This one, intoxicated with love, threw himself on the flame;
with his forelegs he took hold of the flame and united him-
self joyously with her. He embraced her completely and his
body became as red as fire. The wise moth, who was watch-
ing from far off", saw that the flame and the moth appeared to
be one, and he said: ‘He has learnt what he wished to know;
but only he understands, and one can say no more.’

AN ILL-TREATED SUFI

A Sufi was sauntering leisurely along when he was struck
from behind. He turned round and said to the rogue who
had hit him : ‘ He whom you struck has been dead more than
thirty years.’ The rogue replied: ‘How can a dead man
speak? Be ashamed, you are not united to God. If you are
separated from him even by one hair it is as if you were a
hundred worlds away.’

(i26)

When you are reduced to ashes, including your baggage,
you will have not the least feeling of existence ; but if there
remains to you, as to Jesus, only a simple needle, a hundred
thieves will lie in wait for you on the road. Although Jesus
had thrown down his baggage, the needle was still able to
scratch his face.

When existence disappears, neither riches nor empire,
honours nor dignity, have any meaning.

THE PRINCE AND THE BEGGAR

There was once a king who had a son as charming as Joseph,
full of grace and beauty. He was loved by ever)^one, and all
who saw him would gladly have been the dust under his
feet. If he went out at night, it was as if a new sun had risen
over the desert. His eyes were the black narcissus, and when
they glanced they set a world on fire. His smile scattered
sugar, and wherever he walked a thousand roses bloomed,
not waiting for the spring.

Now there was a simple dervish who had lost his heart to
this young prince. Day and night he sat near the prince’s
palace, neither eating nor sleeping. His face became like
yellow gold, and his e^^cs shed tears of silver, for his heart
was cut in two. He would have died, but that from time to
time he caught a glimpse of the young prince when he
appeared in the bazaar. But how could such a prince com-
fort a poor dervish in this state? Yet the simple man, who
was a shadow, a particle of an atom, wished to take the
radiant sun on his breast.

One day when the prince was riding at the head of his
attendants the dervish stood up and gave a cry and said:
‘ My reason has left me, my heart is consumed, I no longer
have patience or strength to suffer,’ and he beat his head on
the ground in front of the prince. One of the courtiers
wanted to have him killed, and went to the king. ‘Sire,’
he said, ‘a libertine has fallen in love with your son.’ The

(1^7)

king was very angr)': ‘Have this audacious scoundrel im-
paled/ he said. ‘Bind him hand and foot and put his head
on a stake.’ The courtier went at once to do his bidding.
They put a running noose on the neck of the beggar and
dragged him to the stake. No one knew what it was about
and no one interceded for him. When the wazir had had him
brought under the gibbet, the dervish gave a cry of grief and
said: ‘For the love of God, give me a respite, so that at least
I can say a prayer under the gibbet.’ This was allowed, and
the dervish prostrated himself and prayed : ‘ O God, since the
king has given orders for my death — I, who am innocent —
grant me, your ignorant servant, before I die, the good for-
tune to see only once the face of this young man, so that I
may offer myself as a sacrifice. O God, my King, you who
give ear to a thousand prayers, grant this last wish of mine.’

No sooner had the dervish uttered this prayer than the
arrow of his desire reached its mark. The wazir divined his
secret and took pity on him. He went to the king and ex-
plained the true state of things. At this the king became
thoughtful; then compassion filled his heart and he pardoned
the dervish, and said to the prince: ‘Go and fetch this poor
man from under the gibbet. Be gentle with him and drink
with him, for he has tasted of your poison. Take him to your
garden and then bring him to me.’

The young prince, another Joseph, went at once — the sun
with a face of fire came face to face with an atom. This
ocean of beautiful pearls went to seek a drop of water. Beat
your head for joy, set your feet dancing, clap your hands!
But the dervish was in despair; his tears turned the dust to
mud and the world became heavy with his sighs. Even the
prince himself could not help but weep. When the dervdsh
saw his tears he said: ‘O Prince, now you may take my life.’
And so saying, he gave up the ghost and died. When he
knew that he was united to his beloved no other desires were
left.

(128)

O you, who at once exist and are yet a non-entity, whose
happiness is mingled with unhappiness, if you have never
experienced unrest, how will you appreciate tranquillity?
You stretch out your hand towards the lightning and are
stopped by swept-up heaps of snow. Strive valiantly, burn
reason, and give yourself up to folly. If you wish to use this
alchemy reflect a little and, by my example, renounce your-
self; withdraw from your wandering thoughts into your
soul so that you may come to spiritual poverty. As for me,
who am neither I nor not-I, I have strayed from myself, and
I find no other remedy than despair.

QUESTION OF A DISCIPLE TO HIS SHAIKH

A man who was striving to overcome his weaknesses asked
Nuri one day: ‘How shall I ever be able to arrive at union
with God?’ Nuri replied: ‘For this you must cross seven
oceans of light and seven of fire, and travel a very long road.
When you have crossed these twice seven oceans, a fish will
draw you to him, such a fish that when he breathes he draws
into his breast the first and the last. This marvellous fish has
neither head nor tail; he holds himself in the middle of the
ocean, quiet and detached; he sweeps away the two worlds,
and he draws to himself all creatures without exception.’

45

ATTITUDE OF THE BIRDS

When the birds had listened to this discourse of the Hoopoe
their heads drooped down, and sorrow pierced their hearts.
Now they understood how difficult it would be for a handful
of dust like themselves to bend such a bow. So great was
their agitation that numbers of them died then and there.
But others, in spite of their distress, decided to set out on
the long road. For years they travelled over mountains and

( 129)

valleys, and a great part of their life flowed past on this
journey. But how is it possible to relate all that happened to
them? It would be necessary to go with them and see their
difficulties for oneself, and to follow the wanderings of this
long road. Only then could one realize what the birds
suffered.

In the end, only a small number of all this great company
arrived at that sublime place to which the Hoopoe had led
them. Of the thousands of birds almost all had disappeared.
Many had been lost in the ocean, others had perished on the
summits of the high mountains, tortured by thirst; others had
had their wings burnt and their hearts dried up by the fire
of the sun; others were devoured by tigers and panthers;
others died of fatigue in the deserts and in the wilderness,
their lips parched and their bodies overcome by the heat;
some went mad and killed each other for a grain of barley ;
others, enfeebled by suffering and weariness, dropped on the
road unable to go further; others, bewildered by the things
they saw, stopped where they were, stupefied; and many,
who had started out from curiosity or pleasure, perished
without an idea of what they had set out to find.

So then, out of all those thousands of birds, only thirty
reached the end of the journey. And even these were be-
wildered, wear}" and dejected, with neither feathers nor
wings. But now they were at the door of this Majesty that
cannot be described, whose essence is incomprehensible —
that Being who is beyond human reason and knowledge.
Then flashed the lightning of fulfilment, and a hundred
worlds were consumed in a moment. They saw thousands
of suns each more resplendent than the other, thousands of
moons and stars all equally beautiful, and seeing all this they
were amazed and agitated like a dancing atom of dust, and
they cried out: ‘O Thou who art more radiant than the sun!
Thou, who hast reduced the sun to an atom, how can we
appear before Thee? Ah, why have we so uselessly endured

( 13°)

all this suffering on the Way? Having renounced ourselves
and all things, we now cannot obtain that for which we have
striven. Here, it little matters whether we exist or not.’

Then the birds, who were so disheartened that they re-
sembled a cock half-killed, sank into despair. A long time
passed. When, at a propitious moment, the door suddenly
opened, there stepped out a noble chamberlain, one of the
courtiers of the Supreme Majesty. He looked them over and
saw that out of thousands only these thirty birds were left.

He said: ‘Now then, O Birds, where have you come
from, and what are you doing here? What is your name? O
you who are destitute of everything, where is your home?
What do they call you in the world? What can be done with
a feeble handful of dust like you?’

‘We have come,’ they said, ‘to acknowledge the Simurgh
as our king. Through love and desire for him we have lost
our reason and our peace of mind. Very long ago, when we
started on this journey, we were thousands, and now only
thirty of us have arrived at this sublime court. We cannot
believe that the King will scOrn us after all the sufferings
we have gone through. Ah, no! He cannot but look on us
with the eye of benevolence ! ’

The Chamberlain replied: ‘O you whose minds and
hearts are troubled, whether you exist or do not exist in the
universe, the King has his being always and eternally. Thou-
sands of worlds of creatures are no more than an ant at his
gate. You bring nothing but moans and lamentations.
Return then to whence you came, O vile handful of earth ! ’
At this, the birds were petrified with astonishment. Never-
theless, when they came to themselves a little, they said:
‘Will this great king reject us so ignominiously? And if he
really has this attitude to us may he not change it to one of
honour? Remember Majnun who said, “If all the people who
dwell on earth wished to sing my praises, I would not
accept them; I would rather have the insults of Laila. One

( 131 )

of her insults is more to me than a hundred compliments
from another woman ! ’’ ’

‘The lightning of his glory manifests itself/ said the
Chamberlain, ‘and it lifts up the reason of all souls. What
benefit is there if the soul be consumed by a hundred sor-
rows? What benefit is there at this moment in either great-
ness or littleness?’

The birds, on fire with love, said: ‘How can the moth
save itself from the flame when it wishes to be one with the
flame? The friend we seek will content us by allowing us to
be united to him. If now we are refused, what is there left
for us to do? We are like the moth who wished for union
with the flame of the candle. They bfegged him not to sacri-
fice himself so foolishly and for such an impossible aim, but
he thanked them for their advice and told them that since his
heart was given to the flame for ever, nothing else mattered.’

Then the Chamberlain, having tested them, opened the
door; and as he drew aside a hundred curtains, one after the
other, a new world beyond the veil was revealed. Now was
the light of lights manifested, and all of them sat down on
the masnad, the seat of the Majesty and Glor}^ They were
given a writing which they were told to read through ; and
reading this, and pondering, they were able to understand
their state. When they w^ere completely at peace and de-
tached from all things they became aware that the Simurgh
was there with them, and a new life began for them in the
Simurgh. All that they had done previously was washed
away. The sun of majesty sent forth his rays, and in the
reflection of each other’s faces these thirty birds (si-murgh)
of the outer world, contemplated the face of the Simurgh
of the inner world. This so astonished them that they did
not know if they were still themselves or if they had be-
come the Simurgh. At last, in a state of contemplation, they
realized that they were the Simurgh and that the Simurgh
was the thirty birds. W’hen they gazed at the Simurgh they

( 132)

saw that it was truly the Simurgh who was there, and when
they turned their eyes towards themselves they saw that they
themselves were the Simurgh. And perceiving both at once,
themselves and Him, they realized that they and the Simurgh
were one and the same being. No one in the world has ever
heard of anything to equal it.

Then they gave themselves up to meditation, and after a
little they asked the Simurgh, without the use of tongues, to
reveal to them the secret of the mystery of the unity and
plurality of beings. The Simurgh, also without speaking,
made this reply : ‘ The sun of my majesty is a mirror. He who
sees himself therein sees his soul and his body, and sees them
completely. Since you have come as thirty birds, si-murgh,
you will see thirty birds in this mirror. If forty or fifty were
to come, it would be the same. Although you are now com-
pletely changed you see yourselves as you were before.

‘Can the sight of an ant reach to the far-off Pleiades? And
can this insect lift an anvil? Have you ever seen a gnat seize
an elephant in its teeth? All that you have known, all that you
have seen, all that you have said or heard — all this is no
longer that. When you crossed the valleys of the Spiritual
Way and when you performed good tasks, you did aU this
by my action; and you were able to see the valleys of my
essence and my perfections. You, who are only thirty birds,
did well to be astonished, impatient and wondering. But I
am more than thirty birds. I am the very essence of the
true Simurgh. Annihilate then yourselves gloriously and
joyfully in me, and in me you shall find yourselves.^

Thereupon, the birds at last lost themselves for ever in
the Simurgh — the shadow was lost in the sun, and that is all.

All that you have heard or seen or known is not even the
beginning of what you must know, and since the ruined
habitation of this world is not your place you must re-
nounce it. Seek the trunk of the tree, and do not worry
about whether the branches do or do not exist.

( 133 )

IMMORTALITY AFTER ANNIHILATION

When a hundred thousand generations had passed, the
mortal birds surrendered themselves spontaneously to total
annihilation. No man, neither young nor old, can speak
fittingly of death or immortality. Even as these things are
far from us so the description of them is beyond all explana-
tion or definition. If my readers wish for an allegorical ex-
planation of the immortality that follows annihilation, it will
be necessar}' for me to write another book. So long as you
are identified with the things of the world you will not set
out on the Path, but when the world no longer binds you,
you enter as in a dream; but, knowing the end, you see the
benefit. A germ is nourished among a hundred cares and
loves so that it may become an intelligent and acting being.
It is instructed and given the necessary knowledge. Then
death comes and evernhing is effaced, its dignity is thrown
down. This that was a being has become the dust of the
street. It has several times been annihilated; but in the mean-
while it has been able to learn a hundred secrets of which
previously it had not been aware, and in the end it receives
immortalit}’, and is given honour in place of dishonour. Do
you know what you possess ? Enter into yourself and reflect
on this. So long as you do not realize your nothingness
and so long as you do not renounce your self-pride, your
vanity and your self-love, you will never reach the heights of
immortality. On the \\ ay you are cast down in dishonour
and raised in honour.

And now my story is finished, I have nothing more to say.

EPILOGUE

O Attar! you have scattered on the world the contents of
the vessel of the musk of secrets. The horizons of the world
are full of your perfumes and lovers are disturbed because of
you. Your verses are your seal; and they are known as
Mantiq Uttair and Makamat Uttiyur. These conferences and
talks and discourses of the birds are the stages of the way of
bewilderment; or, one may say, they are the Diwan of
Intoxication.

Enter into this diwan with love. When the Duldul of your
love gallops and you desire something, act in conformity
with your desire. Love is the remedy for all ills, and it is the
remedy of the soul in the two worlds.

O you who have set out on the path of inner development,
do not read my book only as a poetical work, or a book of
magic, but read it with understanding; and for this a man
must be hungry for something, dissatisfied with himself and
this world.

He who has not smelt the perfume of my discourse has
not found the way of lovers. But he who will read it with
care will become active, and will be worthy to enter the Way
of which I speak. Those of the outer world will be like
drowned men as regards my discourse; but men of the inner
world will understand its secrets. My book is the ornament
of its time; it is at once a gift for distinguished men and a
boon for the common. If a man as cold as ice reads this book
he will shoot forth as fire out of the veil which hides the
mystery from him. My writings have an astonishing pecu-
liarity— they give more profit according to the manner in
which they are read. If you ponder over them often they will
benefit you more each time. The veil of this wife of the harem
will be drawn aside for you only gradually in the place of

(136)

honour and grace. I have scattered pearls from the ocean of
contemplation; I am thereby acquitted, and this, my book, is
the proof.

But if I praise myself too much, you may not approve;
though he who is impartial will recognize my merit, for the
light of my full moon is not hidden. If I am not remembered
for myself I shall be remembered until the resurrection by
the pearls of poetry that I have scattered on the heads of
men. The cupolas of heaven will dissolve before this poem
shall perish.

Reader, if you experience some well-being through having
read this poem with attention, remember the writer in your
prayers. I have strewn here and there roses from the garden.
Remember me well, O my friends ! Each teacher reveals his
ideas in his own special way, and then he disappears. Like
my predecessors I have revealed the bird of my soul to those
who are asleep. Perhaps the sleep which fills your life has
deprived you of this discourse ; but, having met it, your soul
will be awakened by the secret which it reveals.

And now my brain is smoked like a niche where stands a
lamp. I have said to myself: ‘ O you who talk so much, instead
of so much talking beat your head and search the secrets.
What is the use of all these narrations to men corrupted with
egoism. What can come out of hearts taken up with vanity
and self-pride?’

If you wish the ocean of your soul to remain in a state of
salutary movement you must die to all your old Life, and then
keep silence.

ATTAR

Farid ud-Din Abu Hamid Muhammad ben Ibrahim was generally
called Attar, the perfumer. Though little is known with certainty
about his life, it seems that he was born in a.d. i i 20 near Nishapur
in North-West Persia (the birthplace of Omar Khayyam). The
date of his death is uncertain but is given as about a.d. 1230, so
he lived to be a hundred and ten. Most of what is known about
him is legendary, even his death at the hands of a soldier of
Jenghis Khan. From his personal reminiscences scattered among
his writings it seems that he spent thirteen years of his ^^outh in
Meshed. According to Dawlatshah, Attar was sitting one day
with a friend at the door of his shop when a dervish came by,
who looked in, smelt the sweet perfumes, then heaved a sigh
and wept. Attar thought he was trying to arouse their pity and
asked him to go away. The dervish said: ‘Yes, there is nothing
to prevent me leaving your door and saying farewell to this
world. All I have is my worn-out khirka. But I grieve for you.
Attar. How can you ever turn your mind to death and renounce
all these worldly goods?’ Attar replied that he hoped to end his
life in poverty and contentment as a dervish. ‘We shall see,’ said
the dervish, and thereupon laydown and died.

This made such an impression on Attar that he left his father’s
shop, became a pupil of the famous shaikh Bukn-ud-din, and
began to study, in theory and practice, the Sufi system of ideas.
For thirty-nine years he travelled in many countries, studying in
monasteries and collecting the writings of devout Sufis, together
with legends and stories. He then returned to Nishapur where he
lived for the remainder of his life. It was said that he had a deeper
understanding of Sufi ideas than anyone of his time. He com-
posed about two hundred thousand verses and many works in
prose. He lived before Jalal-uddin Ruml. A Sufi being asked who
of these two understood most, said: ‘Rumi flew up to the heights
of perfection like an eagle in the twinkling of an eye; Attar
reached the same place by creeping like an ant.’ Rumi said : ‘Attar
is the soul itself.’

K

( 138)

Garcin cle Tassy relates that in 1862 Nicholas Khanikoff dis-
covered a stone outside Nishapur, which had been erected some-
time between 1469 and 1506 (some two hundred and fifty years
after Attar’s death) on which was engraved an inscription in
Persian. Tassy’s translation of this into French I render as follows:

God is Eternal
In the name of God
The Compassionate the Merciful

Here in this garden of a lower Eden, Attar perfumed the soul
of the humblest of men. This is the tomb of a man so eminent
that the dust stirred by his feet would have served as collyrium
to the eye of the firmament; of the illustrious shaikh Attar Farid,
of whom the saints were disciples ; of this excellent perfumer whose
breath embalmed the world from one Kaf to another. In his shop,
that nest of angels, the firmament is as a phial of pellets perfumed
with citron. The earth of Nishapur will be renowned until the
day of resurrection because of this illustrious man. The mine of
his gold is found at Nishapur for he was born at Zarwand in the
district of Gurgan. He lived at Nishapur for eighty-two years, of
which thirty-two were passed in tranquillity. In the year of the
Hijra 586 [1190] he was pursued by the sword of the army which
devoured everything. Farid perished in the time of Hulaku Khan,
being martyred in the massacre which then took place . . . May
God, the Most High, refresh his soul! Increase, O Lord, his merit.

The tombstone of this eminent man was placed here in the
reign of the King of the World, His Majesty Sultan Abu Igazi
Hussein . . .

The rest of the inscription is in praise of the Sultan. There
seems not to be any contemporary written record of how, when
or where he died or was buried.

A NOTE ON THE SUFIS

The name is derived from suf, wool — woollen robes of ascetics.
The Sufis follow the inner teaching of the Koran. Together with
a system of ideas based on the precepts of their sacred book, they
have a practical method for working on themselves, which is
taught orally. By means of exercises, postures, and dances, the
forces of man, which are continually being diverted away from
himself, may be used and converted for inner development and
the increasing of consciousness. The aim and end is union of the
soul with God. There may be moments of foretaste of this —
moments of revelation and ecstasy — ‘gifts’, as they are called,
but perfection, union with God, must be worked for; there must
be constant striving.

There is one God. All things are in Him and He is in all things.
All things, visible and invisible, are emanations of Him. Religions,
in themselves, are not important, though they may serve to
lead men to Reality. Good and Evil, as we understand them, do
not really exist, for ever}'thing proceeds from the One Being,
God; at the same time, there is real good and real evil, Man is
not free in his actions; he has no free-will, though this may be
achieved through striving in the right way. He is turned this way
and that way by interior and exterior forces— the sport of evert’
wind that blows. Union is attained through two forms of renun-
ciation and detachment: our own desires, vanities, day-dreams,
on the one hand ; and the things of the world on the other — love
of power, fame, riches and honours. But prayer and fasting also
can be a great hindrance: one can become identified with any-
thing. A Sufi, however, should not renounce necessaries and
should not retire from the world. He must be in it but not of
it. It is a great blessing to have what is necessary for the physical
body. Sex in itself was not an occasion for sin, as it became in
orthodox Christianity, but a prized possession. The meaning and
use of the sex force was understood. As Orage points out in his
essay ‘On Love’, ‘The chastity of the senses [in ancient times]
was taught in early childhood. Eroticism thereby became an art
in the highest form the world has seen. Its faint echoes are to be
found in Persian and Sufi literature today.’

( 140 )

The soul (in the sense of that higher part of man which longs
for perfection) existed before the body and is confined in it as
in a cage. Human life is a journey which is made in stages; and
the seeker after God a traveller, who must make great efforts to
overcome his weaknesses and faults, and to obtain true know-
ledge and understanding.

Its followers say that Sufism has always existed under various
names; and that the system and method, in different forms, was
known to the Egyptians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Greeks, and
early Christians — in fact, to all of the great religions in their
origins. It exists in the West today.

Only the fellowship of those who have reached a certain state
of development can set the traveller on the path. Provided he has
the ableness for discipline and effort, a single day — even a single
hour, in the society of men of understanding is of more value
than years of asceticism and exterior forms of worship.

Among the rules for pupils in the presence of a teacher are the
following: ‘Pay attention and speak little. Don’t answer questions
not addressed to you; but if asked, answer promptly, and don’t
be ashamed to say “I don’t know”. Don’t dispute for the sake of
disputation. Don’t boast before your elders. Don’t seek the
highest place. Don’t be over-ceremonious. Obey all ordinary
conventions, and conform to the wishes of others so long as
they are not against your inner convictions. Don’t make a prac-
tice of anything, except it is a religious duty or useful to others,
since it may become an idol.’

The Sufis say that almost everyone is born with possibilities
for inner development but that his parents and those around him
make him a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu, or a Magician, and he
soon acquires prejudices and accepts what others say with no
regard to his own experience or reasoning, and this becomes a
stumbling-block. When a ‘believer’ dies — one who has worked
on himself — his soul goes to that heaven which corresponds to
the state to which it has been perfected. But, however much
‘knowledge’ a man has, unless he has examined himself, and
confessed to himself that really he understands nothing, all that
he has acquired will be as ‘ the wind in his hand ’.

GLOSSARY

ABRAHAM, IBRAHIM: One of the six great prophets. Nimrod
had him thrown into a fiery furnace but he was rescued by the
Angel Gabriel and the fire changed into a garden of roses.
Nimrod made war on Abraham, but his army was defeated by
swarms of gnats, one of which crept into Nimrod’s brain; he
who wished to be Lord of all was punished by the smallest of
creatures.

abrahah: Also called Azaz and Thare. Father of Abraham. An
idolater and fire-worshipper.

ADAM: Muslims consider him to be the first prophet, the ^chosen
of God’, Khalif of God on earth. The first man. According to
Muslims, wheat was the forbidden food which Adam ate in
Paradise.

A last: The first word of a passage in the Koran, ‘Am I not
your Lord?’ The words addressed to human souls contained in
Adam, who replied ‘Yes’.

angels: Are thought to be of a simple substance. Four are
archangels: Gabriel, the angel of Revelations; Michael, the
patron of the Israelites; Israfil, who will sound the trumpet on
the last day; Azrael, the angel of death. Munkir and Nakir
examine the dead in their graves. There are many others.

ant: Guided Solomon across the desert.

ark: Consisted of three stories — the lowest for beasts, the next
for humans, the top for birds.

beard: By Muslims regarded as the badge of dignity and man-
hood. Hence: ‘By the beard of the Prophet.’

bird OF the soul: Joined the soul to the body, body to spirit.

birds: Muslims believe that all kinds of birds (and many beasts)
have a language by which they speak to each other. King
Solomon was taught the language of the birds.

bismillah: In the name of God.

( M2)

BORAK, buraq: The Bright One. The animal on which
Muhummad made the journey at night, the Mi’raj. A white
animal smaller than a horse, with wings.

bridge: ‘Across the water’, for the Israelites over the Red Sea.
cat: A cat woke Muhammad when it was time for prayer. Abu
Qutadah said, ‘Cats are not impure, they keep w'atch round about
us*.

DANG: Quarter of a dinar.

death: The Koran teaches that the hour of death is fixed for
every' living creature. ‘If God were to punish men for their
wrong-doing he would not leave a single human being on earth,
but he gives them a respite; and when their time comes they can
neither delay it for a single hour, nor can they hasten it.’
dervish: Persian, from ‘dar’, a door, so Darwesh. Begging
from door to door. Arabic, faquir — the poor in spirit. TTiey
follow the teachings of the Sufis. There are different orders of
dervdshes.

devil: Shaitan, the Opposer. Iblis, The Wicked One. Shaitan
also denotes one who is far from the truth; and Iblis, one who
is without hope. Muhammad said: ‘There is not one of you but
has an angel and a devil appointed over him.’ The Companions
asked: ‘Do you include yourself?’ He said: ‘Yes, for me also,
but God has given me the victory' over the devil and he does not
direct me except in what is good. Not one of the sons of Adam,
except Mary' and her son Jesus, but is touched by the devil at
birth — hence his cries.’

dimple: The allusion is often to a well or spring.
dinar: Gold coin worth about two pounds today.

DOGS: Unclean animals to Muslims, though hunting with
trained dogs is permitted. A dog is able to see Azrael, the angel
of death.

EATING: Muslims are enjoined to eat in the name of God. The
devil has power over food that is eaten without remembering God.
When a man remembers the name of God, and remembers him-
self, at meal times, the devil says to his demons: ‘This is no place
for us: nor is there any food.’

( 143)

FOUR GOLDEN WALLS: Points of the compass.

genii: Good and evil spirits. Among them are Janns, Jinn,
Shaitans, Ifrits and Marids. The evil Jinn are called by the
Persians, Deves.

god: There are a hundred names, or attributes of God. The first
and last being Allah.

green: For the Persian the colour of heaven is green.

heaven: The firmament. Distinct from Paradise, the abode of
bliss. There are seven heavens, and seven stages or seven paths
in Heaven. Muhammad passed through the seven during the
Mi’raj.

hell: The Fire. Hell has seven doors or divisions. One is
Jahannan, the purgatorial hell.

hijra: ‘Migration.’ Flight of Muhammad from Mecca. Also
‘fleeing from sin’.

hoopoe: Hudhud, from its call. When Solomon had finished
the temple he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and from there to
Arabia Felix. Needing water he called the Hoopoe, for she was
able to discover water underground, and when she marked the
place with her beak, the demons drew the water. The Hoopoe
carried the letter from Solomon to Balkis, the Queen of Sheba.
Reviewing the birds, Solomon said: ‘I do not see the Hudhud.
Is she then among the absent?’ A mark on her beak resembles
the Persian character ‘Bismillah’. Her ‘crown of glory’ is her
crest. When its mate dies it does not take a new one; also, it cares
for its parents. Muhammad forbade his people to kill it.

hospitality: ‘Show kindness to your parents, to your
kindred, to orphans, to your neighbours, to the companion who
is strange, and to the son of the road ’, Koran.

HUM A OR HUM ay: Bearded griffon. Largest of birds of prey in
the Old World. Carries off bones of dead animals and smashes
them against rocks for food. The shadow of a huma falling on
a person’s head is a sign that he will be raised to a throne.

idiot: Arabic, Madjnun. A person whose mind is in heaven,
his body on earth. Whatever an idiot of God may do it does not

( 144)

affect his sanctity. In early English the Apostles and simple
people were spoken of as idiots. ‘Holy and innocent idiots’,
Jeremy Taylor. Greek, ‘a private person’. In some esoteric
teachings: one who is freeing himself from inner and outer
attachments. There are stages of this. Also used in the other
sense: a fool, lunatic, impostor.

ISP and: Herb, perhaps mustard, burnt at births and marriages
to avert the evil eye.

ishmael: The progenitor of the Arab race, an inspired pro-
phet. Said to have been offered as a sacrifice, not Isaac.

JESUS: Muhammad speaks of him as Son of Mary, the Messiah,
Word of God, Word of Truth, Messenger from God. He was
not crucified, but a substitute w'as put on the cross. Taken up
to the seventh heaven, and by accident a needle and broken
pitcher with him, against God’s command forbidding earthly
things, for which he was brought down to the fourth heaven.
But he will stay there in glory and come again at the last day.
Often referred to as a fish, also by Attar. Greek for fish is IX0YI
the initial letters of Iriaous Xpioros Geou Y\o% Icott^p Jesus Christ
Son of God Saviour.

JEWS: Were favoured by God. In possession of divine teaching,
which they have forsaken.

jihad: An effort, a striving. Sufis say there are two Jihads or
warfares: the greater against our own faults and weaknesses, the
lesser against the infidels.

JOSEPH: Son of Jacob. An inspired prophet. Thrown into a
well. After he was sold to the Egyptians his master’s wife
Zulaikha fell in love wdth him and he with her. But because he
would not yield she had him imprisoned. When her husband died
she and Joseph were married and had two sons. One of the great
love stories of the East is ‘Joseph and Zulaikha’.

ka’aba: Cube. The cube-shaped stone building in the centre of
the Mosque at Mecca. Contains the Hajaru’l-Aswad, or black
stone which came from heaven white but has become black
because of the sins of those who have touched it.

kaf: Mountain range which surrounds the earth.

( 145 )

AL kausar: ‘Abundance.’ A pool in Muhammad’s Paradise.
khirka: Mande of the dervdshes, made of pieces and patches.

AL khizr: Said to have lived in the time of Abraham, is stiU
alive, for he drank of the water of life and thereby obtained
immortality.

knee: See ‘Shaikh and the old woman’. Allusion to a posture
of the Sufis.

korah: Numbers, Chap. i6.

MAHMUD: A.D. 969-1030. One of the most famous of Musul-
man rulers. His capital was at Nishapur; and his court at Gazna
was the resort of poets, artists and the learned.

AH ram: a near relative, whom it is not lawful to marry; so,
an intimate.

MASK ad: Seat of royalty, on which there is room for several
persons.

majnun: ‘Possessed by a Jinni.’ His passion for Laila is one of
the great love stories of Persia. They fell in love at first sight but
her father made her marry another man. Majnun spent the rest of
his life half-naked, catching rare glimpses of Laila, and writing
poems to her. Sufi writers use the story as a similitude for the
man who gives up everything to be united to God.

mihrab: Niche in a Mosque pointing to Mecca.

MULE: Allusion to a custom in the East whereby women would
convey letters or small precious objects secretly in the animal’s
vagina. In Persia, thieves were marked on the shoulder.

N.AFS: Has several aspects. One, the forces that move man
through his centres. Another, the denying part.

obol: a small coin in use in the Near East and Europe in early
times. Worth about a threepenny bit.

phoenix: Its ‘trumpet’ is an allusion to the last day.

pir: An elder. Religious leader. Old man.

pit: Dry cisterns and wells were used as prisons.